Zero Two
by Icethroat21
Summary: Cinderheart freed Cinderpelt in The Last Hope when she let her go and chose the life of a warrior rather than a medicine cat. Leafpool, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Cinderheart thought everything with Cinderpelt was over when Cinderheart let her go. They had no idea how wrong they were...
1. Allegiances and Prologue

**Zero Two**

**Cinderheart freed Cinderpelt in the Last Hope. Leafpool, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze thought everything with Cinderpelt was over. They didn't know how wrong they were.**

**StarClan, who had been busy preparing for the war, hadn't noticed Cinderpelt trying to reach them. Their gates were closed at the time. Unable to enter StarClan, Cinderpelt became distressed and went down the only other path she could find—the Dark Forest.**

**Meanwhile, Cinderheart receives a visit in a dream from one of the cats she least expected to find and the news she is given is far from fantastic. Cinderheart doesn't know what to do with the information she's received. She struggles over the decision of whether to tell her mate or not. She makes the wrong decision and realizes far too late that her grip on life is slipping right between her claws...**

* * *

**Allegiances**

* * *

**Leader: ****Bramblestar—**dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Deputy:****Lionblaze—**golden tabby tom with amber eyes

**Medicine Cats: ****Leafpool—**light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Jayfeather—**gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

**Briarlight—**dark brown she-cat with crippled hind legs

**Warriors: ****Graystripe—**long-haired gray tom

**Dustpelt—**dark brown tabby tom

**Sandstorm—**pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Brackenfur—**golden brown tabby tom

**Cloudtail—**long-haired white tom with blue eyes

**Thornclaw—**golden brown tabby tom

**Spiderleg—**long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

**Birchfall—**light brown tabby tom

**Whitewing—**white she-cat with green eyes

**Berrynose—**cream-colored tom

**Hazeltail—**small gray-and-white she-cat

**Mousewhisker—**gray-and-white tom

**Poppyfrost—**tortoiseshell she-cat

**Cinderheart—**gray tabby she-cat

**Foxleap—**reddish tabby tom

**Apprentice, Cherrypaw**

**Icecloud—**white she-cat

**Toadstep—**black-and-white tom

**Rosepetal—**dark cream she-cat

**Apprentice, Molepaw**

**Blossomfall—**tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

**Bumblestripe—**very pale gray tom with black stripes

**Dovewing—**pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Ivypool—**silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

**Apprentices: ****Cherrypaw—**ginger she-cat

**Molepaw—**brown-and-cream tom

**Queens: ****Sorreltail—**tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Lilykit and Seedkit

**Brightheart—**white she-cat with ginger patches, mother of Amberkit, Dewkit, and Snowkit

**Millie—**striped gray tabby she-cat with green eyes, mother of Splashkit, Featherkit, and Silverkit

**Squirrelflight—**dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, expecting Bramblestar's kits

**Kits: ****Lilykit—**dark brown tabby she-cat with white patches

**Seedkit—**very pale ginger she-cat

**Amberkit—**gray she-cat with white paws, white muzzle, white right ear, and amber eyes

**Dewkit—**gray tom with amber eyes

**Snowkit—**white tom with amber eyes

**Splashkit—**black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

**Featherkit—**silver tabby she-cat with black paws and blue eyes

**Silverkit—**silver-and-white tabby she-cat with green eyes

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

_Goodbye, Cinderheart._

The dark gray she-cat blinked her blue eyes. She reached out her paw and tried to push through the barrier again, but she couldn't. She took a few steps backwards. Then she ran forward and tried to jump through, but she was thrown backwards by the invisible barrier. She could see the stars, but the starlight wouldn't reach her paws. The dark gray she-cat spat at the barrier and hissed before turning around and walking back up the path she had gone down.

She stood at the edge of the path where two paths met. This was the point where both paths began. This was where every spirit came when they died. Usually a close friend or family member would be there to guide the spirit to StarClan.

Usually.

But no one was there.

Instead, everyone was down below fighting a war…between StarClan and the Dark Forest. Between the two paths that the dark gray she-cat could walk down.

The dark gray she-cat flexed her leg which had been crippled for so long. Now it was fine. It had been healed when her spirit had arrived at the two paths. The dark gray she-cat glanced longingly at the stars one last time before she slowly started walking down the other path. She hung her head and stared at the ground as she began her time with the darkness.

She lifted her head and glared at the starlit path one last time before walking through to the barrier to the Dark Forest.

_You didn't let me in,_ she thought angrily. _I will never forgive you for that, StarClan! I am going to get my revenge against you and everyone who messed this up for me!_

* * *

"What are we going to do without Spottedleaf?" Bluestar fretted. "We have never lost anyone of such great value before. Not forcefully."

"We haven't had any StarClan casualties in a long time," Yellowfang agreed.

"This is certainly strange," Whitestorm agreed.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Firestar meowed, exchanging a quick glance with Hollyleaf. They were new to StarClan; they were a bit lost in the conversation with the StarClan veterans.

"The war is over; there aren't any other difficulties going on right now," Hollyleaf meowed.

"Wrong," Yellowfang meowed. "We still have to clean up the aftermath of the war."

"Which is what, exactly?" Hollyleaf asked.

"We have to recover from the StarClan casualties," Bluestar replied.

"There weren't very many of them, were there? Spottedleaf is honestly the only loss I can think of..." Firestar muttered.

"There is someone missing from within our ranks," Whitestorm meowed.

"We fear they were unable to find their way to us," Bluestar agreed.

"The reasonable explanation is that they were killed while they were trying to reach us. We weren't here to help them. They were left on their own. We can only assume they are gone forever," Yellowfang put in.

"Who?" Hollyleaf asked.

"Yes, who?" Firestar questioned.

Bluestar, Whitestorm, and Yellowfang exchanged a worried glance. Yellowfang sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it," Yellowfang muttered. She turned back to Firestar and Hollyleaf.

"Do what?" Hollyleaf asked.

"Is it really that bad?" Firestar asked.

Yellowfang looked at her paws. "Your apprentice, Firestar. Both yours and mine..."

"But aren't you talking about one cat? This doesn't make sense—oh..." Firestar broke off. His entire expression changed as he realized who it was. He hung his head in sorrow.

Hollyleaf, however, was completely lost. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know who you're talking about," she meowed. "Who has been lost?"

Yellowfang lifted her head.

"Cinderpelt."

* * *

**I know the prologue was pretty short, but I didn't want it to carry on for too long. It _is_ the prologue after all, not an actual chapter.**

**This prologue may seem pretty vague, but that's because it's meant to be vague. I don't want to give everything away in the prologue, after all...**

**Well, I'll try to get the first chapter up soon. (By the way, soon for me means in a few days...)**

**Hey, today's 12/12/12. That's cool. :)**

**~Icy**


	2. Chapter 01: Visit

**Wow, I posted the allegiances and prologue and then I didn't update for two weeks. I didn't even put up the first chapter. I really must apologize for that. It's quite embarrassing. Oh, how time flies by...**

**So, all apologies aside, here's the first chapter! It's short in my opinion, but hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Visit**

* * *

"Lilykit and Seedkit are becoming apprentices today! I'm so excited!" Poppyfrost exclaimed.

"Out younger sisters are becoming apprentices today. Of course it's exciting!" Cinderheart meowed.

"I'm sure Sorreltail is excited, too," Poppyfrost meowed. "I remember how excited and proud I was when Cherrypaw and Molepaw became apprentices. I'm sure you'll experience that some day, too, Cinderheart."

"Wh—what?" Cinderheart stammered nervously.

"Well, it's pretty obvious that you and Lionblaze are mates. Haven't the two of you thought about having kits?" Poppyfrost asked.

"I—I—I..." Cinderheart was lost for words. She hadn't really thought about it. She and Lionblaze just wanted to enjoy their time together.

"It's already been two moons since the war. Purdy and Daisy died of greencough. So did Millie's fourth kit. You never know what's going to happen next. Don't you want to have kits? Before it's too late?" Poppyfrost asked.

"You have way to much time on your paws if you have time to think about life like that. Stop thinking about your life and start living it," Cinderheart added.

"You sound so wise," Poppyfrost meowed. "Are you sure Cinderpelt is gone?"

"She's happily watching over us from StarClan as we speak," Cinderheart replied. "Although some of her wisdom and kindness might have stayed with me. Even though she's gone now, I can still remember all of her memories."

"Is she really gone? Or is she just distant?" Poppyfrost fretted.

"She's gone, I promise," Cinderheart reassured her sister.

"I'm serious, though. Even though you're the only one that Lionblaze loves, you're not the only one that loves Lionblaze," Poppyfrost meowed. "You need to make a move or she will."

"I know, but Icecloud has accepted the fact that we are mates," Cinderheart meowed. Then she shook her head. "Argh! What did I tell you? Stop thinking about life and start living it!"

* * *

**Later in a dream...**

* * *

"Cinderheart! Cinderheart!" It was the voice of a young apprentice. Groaning, Cinderheart opened her eyes. She jumped up in shock. She had expected it to be Lilypaw, her new apprentice. She was in for quite the surprise; it was her gray brother that stood before her.

"Molepaw?" she asked incredulously.

Her brother nodded.

"Why are you here?" Cinderheart asked. "I—"

"I live here," Molepaw replied.

Gasping, Cinderheart took a closer look at her surroundings. She realized she was no longer in the ThunderClan warriors' den. There was too much starlight for that. She was in a forest. The starlight dappled the trees with a stronger light than Cinderheart had ever seen in the sunlight.

Cinderheart looked back at her brother. "Why am _I_ here?"

"Someone wants to talk to you, but they needed me to bring you here. They couldn't get to you," Molepaw meowed.

"Couldn't get to me?" Cinderheart asked concernedly.

"It's because of your time with Cinderpelt," Molepaw replied. "Don't—don't worry! It's just a side effect. It's nothing bad, I promise," he added.

"Oh, okay." Cinderheart sighed in relief. "So who wants to talk to me? Honeyfern? Cinderpelt?"

"I do."

Cinderheart turned around immediately. She gasped when she recognized the pelt.

"Firestar?" she asked in surprise. "Why do _you_ wish to speak with me?"

"Because you only have one moon left to live," Firestar replied.

* * *

**Yep, I'm gonna leave you with that cliffhanger. Enjoy your holidays.**

**~Icy**


	3. Chapter 02: Waste

**So, look who finally decided to end the cruelty which was the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter One. How about that.**

**Seriously, though, I do apologize that it's taken so long. I can give my excuses all day (such as practicing for my region band audition, which, by the way, I got first chair in), but it won't change the fact that I haven't updated in a long time. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. If you enjoyed the angst in Running Up That Hill and you came here for more angst, you've definitely come to the right place.**

**Since it took so long for you to get this update, I won't keep you any more. Without further ado, here's the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

**Waste**

* * *

"_Because you only have one moon left to live," Firestar replied._

Cinderheart froze in shock. She had so many questions, but she could only muster one.

"Why?"

"Something has happened," Firestar replied.

"Wh—what?" Cinderheart stammered. "What happened?"

"It was out of our control at the time, but it is our fault," Firestar meowed.

"What does this have to do with me?" Cinderheart asked. "What happened?"

"Cinderheart...I'm afraid _you_ are going to be the one who suffers the consequences of _our_ actions. Well, in this case, lack of actions..." Firestar trailed off.

"_Firestar!_" Cinderheart exclaimed angrily. "Will you tell me what in the name of StarClan is going on?"

"We didn't take the proper precautions...I wasn't here when the decision was made..."

"What decision?" Cinderheart asked.

"It was two moons ago," Firestar began.

"During the war?" Cinderheart asked.

Firestar nodded. "Yeah—well, night before, actually, but close enough."

"So when you were still alive." Cinderheart didn't even attempt to hide the sadness in her meow as she remembered what a great leader Firestar had been.

"Yes, Firestar replied. "I had nothing to do with what happened."

"Then why are _you_ the one telling me about this?" Cinderheart asked.

"I am simply the messenger," Firestar replied. "You don't know Bluestar or Yellowfang very well..."

"Yes I do!" Cinderheart paused. "Oh. No, I don't. Sorry about that..."

"Bluestar and Yellowfang were very surprised by your actions," Firestar meowed suddenly.

"Wh—what?" Cinderheart stammered.

"They didn't expect you to let go so easily," Firestar explained. "They knew there would be consequences if you let go, but they didn't bother telling you because they didn't think you would."

"Let go? Let go of what?" Cinderheart asked. "Why were they watching me—"

"Cinderpelt," Firestar replied.

Cinderheart said nothing. She was too busy trying to put everything together in her mind. However, Firestar did it for her.

"You were never meant to live without Cinderpelt," Firestar meowed. "You were never supposed to learn you were her reincarnation. You weren't supposed to go your separate ways until both of you entered StarClan. But instead, neither of you have entered StarClan."

"I'm here now," Cinderheart meowed dumbfoundedly.

"You're not a member, though; you're only a visitor," Firestar meowed.

"Wait a minute—neither...Cinderpelt isn't here?" Cinderheart asked.

"She didn't make it," Firestar answered. "The gates to StarClan were closed during the war; we all came from your land to ours together. No one stayed to help Cinderpelt; Bluestar and Yellowfang thought she would stay for the war, but we realized later that she must have been suppressed for so long that she didn't know any better. We don't know for certain, but we think her spirit was killed during the war."

"So she's gone forever...like Spottedleaf..." Cinderheart whispered.

"Exactly," Firestar replied. His voice betrayed his sorrow at the loss of his friend.

"So Cinderpelt is gone...but I'm dying in a moon from now? I still don't understand," Cinderheart admited.

"You were never supposed to live without her," Firestar repeated. "Without her you cannot live."

"Why?" Cinderheart asked.

"I have to show you something," Firestar meowed. "You see this starlit pool? Look into its reflection."

Cinderheart padded over and looked at the reflection. There was a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat in labor. Three kits were already born: a gray tom, a tortoiseshell she-cat, and a light brown tabby she-cat.

"Who is this?" Cinderheart asked.

"Just watch," Firestar replied.

"Cinderheat watched as the fourth kit, a gray tabby she-cat, was born. This fourth kit looked weak. No matter how much the queen licked the kit, she wouldn't warm up.

"Something's wrong," Cinderhaert realized aloud. Firestar said nothing.

Cinderheart suddenly realized she was seeing the ThunderClan nursery. At the entrance a dead badger fell over. Its killer, however, fell as well. A dark gray she-cat.

Cinderheart gasped. "Cinderpelt! Then that means..." Her vision moved back over to the gray tabby kit. It suddenly gave a mewl of hunger. It suddenly warmed up like the others.

"_Me_," Cinderheart realized.

"Cinderpelt's death saved your life," Firestar meowed. "You weren't supposed to live. You were supposed to be stillborn. Come current day, you no longer have Cinderpelt's spirit to keep you alive. The significance over the past two moons has been so little you haven't noticed, but your health has been decaying. Without Cinderpelt's spirit to help, your body cannot harvest the power needed to live."

"So..."

"Now the bigger changes are going to start happening. You're going to feel weaker every day. By the time one moon cycle goes by, you will no longer have the ability to live," Firestar meowed slowly.

"No..." Cinderheart whispered, sinking down to the ground.

"Cinderheart...I'm so sorry..." Firestar tried to find hopeful words, but gave up and stayed silent. Cinderheart had to break the silence.

"Cinderpelt's gone...and soon I will be gone, too...I thought we were supposed to have a second chance! I _am_ Cinderpelt's second chance! Why has our second chance been destroyed so quickly?"

"Cinderheart..." Firestar warned, but it was too late.

"Oh."

Cinderheart blinked. She closed her eyes as everything settled in.

"It's my fault," she realized aloud. "Our second chance is gone...because of me...because I let go..."

"Cinderheart, it's time for you to wake up," Firestar meowed.

"Does it even matter?" Cinderheart muttered softly. Her eyes opened slowly. "In a moon I'm going to sleep and never wake up...why should I have to be awake during my last moon when I know it's my last?"

"I can see the difference between Cinderpelt and you," Firestar meowed at last.

"Do you?" Cinderheart asked, letting the distraction take over for a brief moment. "What is it? I've searched all this time and haven't found anything..."

"Cinderpelt knew she was going to die, just like you do now," Firestar meowed.

"And?"

"She took it a lot better than you did," Firestar meowed.

Cinderheart gasped.

"Or at least, that's what Bluestar and Yellowfang told me..." Firestar added.

Cinderheart closed her eyes. She didn't want to wake up, but she didn't want to stay in StarClan. She didn't feel safe.

She finally found the difference between her and Cinderpelt. She had looked for so long to find how she was different. She had looked for so long to find why her name was different. She finally found it.

Cinderpelt was braver than her. Cinderheart was just a waste of Cinderpelt's second chance...

* * *

**If the words "angst" and "depressing" come to mind, then we're definitely on the same page. Sometimes I wonder why all of my stories are so depressing. I can never find the answer. If I try to write a comedic story, it doesn't last very long. My depressing stories are usually a lot better, too... will I ever write a story that isn't depressing and is as successful as RUTH or ABBD? Probably not...**

**Anyways, uh... moving on...**

**So, Cinderheart and Cinderpelt. The prologue tells us Cinderpelt is in the Dark Forest, but this chapters tells us that StarClan thinks she is dead. Meanwhile, Cinderheart has been told she has one moon left to live. Does she believe this? Will she tell anyone about it? Or will it be too late? Does Cinderpelt know about this? How do these two problems connect? Find out next time on Zero Two!**

**Seriously, though, I hope the next update doesn't take nearly as long as this one did, but I can't make any promises. The next few weeks for me are going to be really busy. I'll do what I can, but I can't promise I'll update again this week, and I don't know about next week. Not to mention I should update ABBD as well...**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Look forward to the next one!**

**~Icy**


	4. Chapter 03: Alone

**Wow it's been a long time since I updated... Sorry about that... And now we're moving on, because I get tired of apologizing for updating pretty late every chapter. Of course, I could fix that if I updated more often, but with all that's going on in my busy life that's just not a possibility.**

**So... moving on...**

**Let's see... Oh yeah. I finally got around to finishing the cover for this story. I know everyone can see it for themselves, but it's all a bit blurry, so let me explain it a bit more. The background is a forest with a river, but it's split into two halves: one is light and the other is dark. There are two gray cats' gazes blurred and crossfaded into the picture. On one side, the light side, there is Cinderheart. On the other side, the dark side, there is Cinderpelt. Or is it the other way around? Hmm... I'll let you guys figure that out for yourselves. What? What are you saying? Oops. Moving on before we get caught up on that...**

**Alright, this AN's long enough. Let's move along with the chapter before it gets any longer.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**Alone**

* * *

Cinderheart opened her eyes. The familiar surroundings of the warriors' den should have been comforting, but they weren't. The warmth of Lionblaze's pelt should have been comforting, but it wasn't. In fact, it wasn't even there at all. Cinderheart turned over to find her suspicions were true. Lionblaze wasn't in his nest. Assuming Lionblaze was out on patrol, Cinderheart took the opportunity to lay in her nest and think things over. She immediately regretted it and jumped to her paws. She stood still and blinked a few times as she let the blood rush to her head settle in and numb.

Cinderheart padded out of the warriors' den. It was only dawn. Cinderheart decided it was too early to wake her new apprentice. She was about to pad over to the fresh-kill pile, but she stopped herself as her eyes moved over to the camp entrance. Birchfall, Whitewing, Hazeltail, Mousewhisker, and Toadstep were gathered. Cloudtail was speaking with them. Cinderheart was surprised when Birchfall, Whitewing, Hazeltail, Mousewhisker, and Toadstep left, leaving Cloudtail to guard the camp entrance. Curious, Cinderheart padded over to him.

"Hey, Cinderheart," Cloudtail meowed to her.

"Hello, Cloudtail," Cinderheart replied, dipping her head to her former mentor. "Where are they going?"

"The ShadowClan border," Cloudtail replied.

"Oh." _They're the dawn patrol! Well, now I feel really stupid... But wait, where's Lionblaze?_

"Cinderheart, are you alright?" Cloudtail asked her worriedly.

"Fine," Cinderheart replied distractedly. "Have you seen Lionblaze?"

"Earlier he went out for a walk," Cloudtail replied. "May I assume you want to find him?"

"Yep," Cinderheart replied to her former mentor.

"Try the lake," Cloudtail advised her. "He goes to the lake a lot when everyone else is sleeping."

"Thanks," Cinderheart meowed.

* * *

**One Walk Later...**

* * *

Cinderheart looked through the bushes and gasped. Lionblaze was indeed at the lake, but he wasn't alone. Out of all cats he could have been with, he was with Icecloud. Cinderheart briefly noticed how convenient it was that there was no wind at the moment to give away her scent.

"Lionblaze, can you really trust Cinderheart? She's a reincarnation! Do you even know what that means?" Icecloud asked sternly. Cinderheart's blood froze as she comprehended what Icecloud was saying.

"Do _you_?" Lionblaze countered.

"Wh-what?" Icecloud stammered.

"Cinderheart may be Cinderpelt's reincarnation, but that doesn't mean she's the same cat," Lionblaze chastised.

"Definitely not!" Icecloud agreed. "Cinderheart will never match the honor and courage Cinderpelt had!"

"You never knew Cinderpelt!" Lionblaze snapped.

"Neither did you!" Icecloud retorted back. "What I'm saying is..."

"I think you need to leave now," Lionblaze growled.

"Well, I don't, so I'm going to continue with what I was saying..."

"Go!" Lionblaze hissed. "Get out of my sight!"

"But—"

"Icecloud, I chose Cinderheart! Get over it!" Lionblaze snarled.

Icecloud turned to pad away, but she quickly turned back. "I just want you to know that I'll never stop waiting for you. Once you see the danger in her that I see, you'll understand. When she hurts you, I'll be ready to comfort you and take you in."

"Cinderheart will never hurt me. I will never hurt her. That's what love is about," Lionblaze meowed.

"Don't be so certain," Icecloud meowed coldly.

"You're different," Lionblaze meowed.

"Really?" Icecloud asked hopefully.

"I don't mind hurting you," Lionblaze meowed coldly. "Now leave me and my mate alone!"

Iceecloud's blue eyes widened. This time she didn't hesitate to run away.

Sighing in relief, Cinderheart padded out into the open after making sure Icecloud was truly gone.

"Cinderheart!" Lionblaze exclaimed. "How much of that did you hear?" he asked worriedly.

"Enough," Cinderheart replied gruffly.

"What you just saw was..."

"An argument," Cinderheart cut in. "I know that nothing happened between you two except for a lot of growling and hissing. Relax, Lionblaze. Don't you know that I trust you?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Then stop worrying," Cinderheart meowed. _Besides, that's my job..._

"Cinderheart?" Lionblaze asked tentatively.

"Yes?" Cinderheart replied.

"Forgive me for asking you this, but... do you think we'll ever have kits?"

"What?" Cinderheart was completely caught off guard by the question.

"Well, it's just... I've been an apprentice, a warrior, a mentor, and even deputy, but I've never been a father. I'd like to be a father some day. I feel like I need to. Neither Hollyleaf nor Jayfeather will have kits. I almost feel like I owe it to them..." Lionblaze trailed off.

"I want to be a mother some day," Cinderheart admitted, "but I'm not sure I can be."

"Of course you can!" Lionblaze exclaimed. "You'll make a great mother!"

"But... Cinderpelt..."

"Never got to have kits, either," Lionblaze reminded her. "Besides, I fell in love with Cinder_heart_, not Cinder_pelt_. I love _you_, Cinderheart. Not the cat you were born a reincarnation of. None of us can control how we were born. You and I should know that better than any other cat!"

Cinderhaert padded over to the edge of the lake and sat down next to Lionblaze. His words had comforted her, but she couldn't bring herself to respond. _If I only have a moon left to live, then that means I can never have kits..._ Cinderheart let her head drop as the words settled in to her own mind. _Lionblaze will never be a father like he wants to be..._ Cinderheart's eyes suddenly widened. _Unless he has kits with someone else..._

Cinderheart shakily stood to her paws. _He'll never be truly happy with me._

"Cinderheart, are you okay?" Lionblaze asked.

_Besides, after one moon, I won't even be here for him..._

"Cinderheart?"

_Oh StarClan,... In order to make him happy, I have to push him away, don't I?_

"Cinderheart!"

Cinderheart jerked out of her thoughts. "Sorry..."

"Are you okay?" Lionblaze asked her worriedly.

"Yeah... Sorry, I was distracted. I had a bad dream, that's all," Cinderheart meowed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lionblaze asked gently.

"...No," Cinderheart decided.

"Fair enough," Lionblaze meowed. "Take your time." He got to his paws. "You can stay here. I need to get back to camp and organize the rest of the patrols."

"Okay," Cinderheart meowed simply.

Lionblaze waited for a farewell before leaving, but Cinderheart never gave it to him. She just sat back down and stared at the reflection of the rising sun in the lake. Sighing, Lionblaze padded away in defeat.

_I can't bring myself to tell him..._ Cinderheart thought sadly. _I want nothing more than to be able to tell him, but I can't. My sorrow shouldn't cost him his happiness. I won't let it. I don't want to hurt him, but I will hurt him. If I tell him, it'll hurt him. If I don't, it'll hurt him. I'm going to die in a moon. Lionblaze is going to lose me._

Cinderheart let her head droop down.

_I'm sure Icecloud won't hesitate to steal him when I'm gone... My life is falling apart... How in the name of StarClan did Cinderpelt do it? And not go mad?_

Cinderpelt closed her eyes.

_Thanks to you, StarClan, I'm all alone..._

* * *

**Meanwhile, Elsewhere...**

* * *

_The time is coming,_ she thought to herself. _The time is almost here._

The dark gray she-cat climbed up onto the tree stump in order to get her paws of of the wet, disgusting marshes and mud, even if only for a moment.

_I only have to wait one more moon. Then I will be free._

The dark gray she-cat sighed as she looked around. No one was there. No one was in the Dark Forest. As far as she knew, all of the Dark Forest members had been killed in the war. That meant that she was the only current member.

_I don't belong here. But I have been put here. I will get my revenge!_

The dark gray she-cat purred as she thought of the pain and misery she would bring to those who should have and could have helped her but didn't. Her happiness was gone as fast as it had come, replaced with sadness. She flattened her ears in disappointment.

_Thanks to you, StarClan, I'm all alone..._

* * *

**And that's a wrap! I don't think that's a cliffhanger, but hell if I know. The ending is sort of an ending to a chapter, but it leaves a lot unanswered. I hope I don't have to point out whose POV it was at the end, but if you didn't figure it out this chapter you'll know for certain by the end of next chapter.**

**I'm going to put this out there before anyone can even ask. No, I am _not_ going to spend a few chapters for filler of all the pain Cinderheart is in as her sickness develops. Instead, next chapter is going to start one moon later. Next chapter will be Cinderheart's last day... or will it be? You'll just have to wait to find out!**

**Cinderheart sure is surrounded by problems. The cat she is the reincarnation of is dead, she just got a new apprentice, and there is another she-cat making rude and desperate attempts to steal her mate. Not exactly a good time to be dying... Not that any time is a good time to die, but I'm just saying this is especially a bad time to be dying... Well, for Cinderheart, anyway...**

**Nevertheless, I digress into making less and less sense with each word I speak... or type in this case...**

**Well, I can't think of anything else to say at the moment nor do I want to bore you with an extremely long AN, so I'll cut this off here. See you next time!**

**~Icy**


	5. Chapter 04: Lost

**Well, it's been quite some time since I updated. Seems like I have to say this every time I update... because I am terrible with updating frequently...**

**Moving along...**

**It's been two months since I have updated and I don't really have anything interesting to say. Wow. I guess I'll just go ahead with the chapter then.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**Lost**

* * *

_Thanks to you, StarClan, I'm all alone..._

* * *

**One Moon Later**

* * *

Cinderheart lay in her nest. Lionblaze was trying to convince her to leave, but she wouldn't listen to him. They were all alone in the warriors' den.

"Cinderheart, what's wrong?" Lionblaze asked her worriedly.

"Nothing," Cinderheart lied in reply. "I just want to sleep."

"Maybe you should see Leafpool or Jayfeather," Lionblaze suggested.

"Medicine can't help me... I should know, remember?" Cinderheart growled. She closed her eyes and rolled over in her nest. "I'm not leaving this nest..."

Lionblaze sighed in frustration. "Cinderheart, I can't help you if you won't talk to me."

"I don't need help," Cinderheart growled.

"Cinderheart, you've changed over the past moon. You aren't nearly as energetic as you used to be. Poppyfrost may as well be Lilypaw's mentor in addition to being Seedpaw's mentor! This isn't the Cinderheart I know," Lionblaze insisted.

Cinderheart lay silently in her nest. She opened her eyes and stared at the sides of the den. Her back remained turned to Lionblaze.

"Cinderheart, something happened. Something happened and you won't tell me about it. I want to know what happened. Cinderheart, please, I'm begging you... what happened to my mate? What happened to the Cinderheart that I know?" Lionblaze pleaded.

He was answered with silence. Cinderheart didn't budge.

"Your hunting has become minimal. Your fighting has become nonexistent. Your care for your apprentice is still there, but not in the sense of doing anything about it. You need help, Cinderheart. Please," Lionblaze made one last effort. "Let me help you."

"I don't need help," Cinderheart repeated coldly. "At least," she added, "not from you I don't."

Lionblaze gasped. Cinderheart closed her eyes as she listened to him slowly leave the den. She knew he was trembling with shock and horror, but she ignored it. She wanted nothing more than to apologize to him, but she forced herself to not care. The closer he was to her the more painful tonight would be. The farther away he was from her the easier it would be for him tonight.

Cinderheart tried to lull herself into sleep. It wasn't hard. She was in pain. She couldn't describe it. She couldn't tell where it was; she wasn't completely certain, but she had suspicions that it was everywhere. She didn't even know where she was in pain at, but it was enough to quickly knock herself out into sleep. Only one last thought remained as her subconscious faded away.

_Tonight it the night I'm going to die._

* * *

**Later in a dream...**

* * *

Cinderheart slowly opened her eyes. She blinked. She opened them again. There was nothing. At least, it sure seemed like there was nothing. She was surrounded by black. She felt like she was engulfed in black. Her heart skipped a beat as she panicked. Had her illness gotten so bad she had gone blind?

_If tonight is the night I'm supposed to die... then where is StarClan?_

Cinderheart took a deep breath in and slowly breathed it back out. She forced herself to calm down. She reminded herself that, based on her symptoms thus far, blindness wouldn't make any sense. She let Cinderpelt's medical skills come back to her mind.

_Even if Cinderpelt's memories are gone, the skills are still there. I'm living her second chance,_ Cinderheart reminded herself.

She gulped.

_I've failed Cinderpelt. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm dying tonight. I've failed—_

Cinderheart stopped mid-thought.

_I've failed Cinderpelt... That's why I'm here..._

Cinderheart blinked again. She lifted her head up and looked all around her. Her eyes suddenly began adjusting to the darkness. She realized everything wasn't black. She could see shades of gray and brown. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to get them to adjust faster but that only slowed it down. Sighing, she realized the only way to speed up the process was to let it work on its own.

"I'm here," Cinderheart thought aloud. "I'm here... but where is here? Where am I?"

"About time you showed up."

Cinderheart whirled around. Her eyes widened at who she saw. Suddenly all of the images around her became clear. She had never seen an image clearer than what she saw before her. All of her fatigue disappeared. Her connection returned.

"Cinderpelt."

The dark gray she-cat padded out from the shadows of a maple tree into the plain darkness. "Hello, Cinderheart," she meowed calmly.

"Cinderpelt, you're—you're alive!" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"Yeah," Cinderpelt replied, twitching her ear.

"Well, you're—you're here! You're not gone forever like they thought you were! You haven't disappeared forever! You weren't lost in the war!" Cinderheart went on.

Cinderheart blinked. Cinderpelt's silence bothered her.

"Wait a minute," Cinderheart meowed suddenly. "You said yeah."

Cinderpelt blinked. "Yeah? What about it?"

"I said you were alive. You said yeah. But you're not. You're dead. I mean, I'm living your second chance, but your first chance, which is you, is over. You're dead. I'm the one that's alive."

"So?" Cinderpelt asked.

"Why did you say yeah?" Cinderheart asked.

Cinderpelt purred in amusement. "This is going by kind of fast. I'd hoped it would last longer."

"Wh-what?" Cinderheart stammered.

"After all, I've waited so long for this day. Three moons," Cinderpelt added.

"Three moons?" Cinderheart asked. "One moon ago Firestar told me that you'd been gone for two moons... So now you've been gone for three moons... What have you been waiting for? Where have you been?" Cinderheart asked.

"Here," Cinderpelt replied.

"Where is here?" Cinderheart asked. She was starting to get annoyed. Cinderpelt was full of riddles. She was full of not making any sense. Almost like Firestar had been.

"That's an excellent question," Cinderpelt replied.

"Are all StarClan cats like this?" Cinderheart retorted angrily.

Cinderpelt lowered her head and stared down at her paws. "Like what?" she asked innocently.

"Like, uh..." Cinderheart began stuttering nonsense. She found many problems to the current situation, but she couldn't focus on one at a time. There was too much for her to think about. Right now her eyes were in charge. Her eyes were trying to tell her what was wrong. She stopped trying to think about everything else and forced herself to focus on the image her eyes were sending to her. Cinderheart took a step back when it hit her.

Something was off about Cinderpelt.

Cinderpelt had lowered her head to stare at her paws. Cinderheart couldn't see Cinderpelt's eyes anymore. The darkness was more at just the perfect angle to hide Cinderpelt's expression. Lowering her gaze just the slightest, Cinderheart could see Cinderpelt's legs were trembling.

Something was wrong with Cinderpelt.

"Cinderpelt, I didn't mean to offend you... I'm sorry if I did..." Cinderheart meowed honestly. "It's just that StarClan cats can sometimes be..."

"Really annoying?" Cinderpelt asked. Her legs stopped trembling. She stood completely still. The only part of Cinderpelt that moved was her jaws allowing her to speak.

"Yeah, exactly!" Cinderheart replied. "I mean, uh... Well, you're not annoying, but..."

"You are," Cinderpelt meowed.

Cinderheart did a double-take. "What?" she asked.

"You didn't mean to offend me?" Cinderpelt repeated her statement.

"Not at all," Cinderheart replied. "Cinderpelt, did I... did I do something? Did I say something? Something I wasn't supposed to?"

"You didn't mean to offend me when you threw me away? You selfishly threw away my second chance just so you could hang out with the tom you loved, ignoring all of my memories you had that could have been useful in the war, but you didn't mean to offend me?" Cinderpelt snapped.

"I..."

"No! You don't get to speak! Let me finish you ungrateful speck of foxdung!" Cinderpelt snarled.

Cinderheart's eyes widened. She jumped back in surprise. She wanted to give some sort of reaction, but she couldn't. She was so shocked she didn't know what to do or say. Cinderpelt took the opportunity to continue.

"You lived my second chance without knowing it was my second chance. You nearly destroyed it several times! I shouldn't know how to swim! I shouldn't have to know! But thanks to you, now I can get my paws wet without drowning. You know my story. I'm a cripple. Well, not anymore, but I was before I met you! Before I selflessly saved your ungrateful excuse for a living being, you tried turning me into a cripple again! Twice!"

"But that was to..."

"I'm not done yet!" Cinderpelt hissed.

"But..."

"Let... me... finish..." Cinderpelt growled.

Cinderheart froze.

"You've tried destroying my second existence so many times I nearly gave up hope. But not anymore," Cinderpelt added.

"What do you mean?" Cinderheart asked. "What do you mean _not anymore_?"

"I won't let you have the opportunity to screw up my second chance anymore. I'm done with you. Your body is done with you," Cinderpelt growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cinderheart asked.

"One of us gets to stay here and one of us gets to go back home to our body," Cinderpelt explained quickly.

"_Our _body? I'm sorry, but it's _my_ body," Cinderheart meowed. "Cinderpelt, I don't know what's going on, but you're making even less sense than all of the other StarClan cats..."

"It's my body now," Cinderpelt snapped.

"What?" Cinderheart exclaimed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"One of us gets to stay and one of us gets to leave. I've been here for three moons. It's about time you took my place," Cinderpelt meowed.

"But we can't just swap places like that. We're supposed to be together! I can't live without you!" Cinderheart cried.

"Exactly," Cinderpelt sneered in reply.

"Wh-what?" Cinderheart stammered.

"You can't live without me, but I can live without you. I've done it before and I'll do it again," Cinderpelt added.

"But I'm the one that's alive! I won't be alive for much longer if you don't help me! Please, Cinderpelt, you're my only hope! You're the only one that can help me! Help me stay alive!" Cinderheart cried.

"You need me to live, but I don't need you," Cinderpelt repeated coldly. "Here you don't have to live. Here you don't have to die. Just chill out, alright? I'll be back in never."

"What?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"Your body is mine now," Cinderpelt meowed. "You know, you never really thanked me for saving your life. I'll just take your body as the makeup gift."

Cinderheart widened her eyes. "Cinderpelt, what in the name of StarClan is going on? None of this makes sense!"

"Oh, Cinderheart, Cinderheart," Cinderpelt meowed, shaking her head. "Not only are you ungrateful, but you're also extremely stupid. This isn't StarClan, Cinderheart."

"Then where is this?" Cinderheart asked slowly.

"Thanks for your body. See you again next never!" Cinderpelt meowed excitedly before fading away.

"Cinderpelt? Cinderpelt? Cinderpelt!" Cinderheart cried. "Cinderpelt, where did you go? And where did you leave me?"

Cinderheart froze as she heard Cinderpelt's voice on the bitter, cold winds that felt like thorns digging into her bones.

"Welcome to the Dark Forest. Enjoy your infinite stay."

* * *

**Well, that was fun to write. The first bit was boring, but getting into the dream was extremely interesting and entertaining. Poor, poor Cinderheart. She goes a moon thinking she understands just how much her life sucks and then, just when she thinks her pain and suffering is finally over, she finds herself even more confused than before. The only difference, but extremely big difference, is that this time she finds herself stuck in the Dark Forest. Meanwhile, Cinderpelt gets to go live as Cinderheart now! More on that next chapter.**

**So, I certainly stepped in it editing wise. Proofreading is going to become very complicated for Cinderpelt's POV while she uses Cinderheart's body. It can get really confusing really fast going between typing Cinder_heart_ and Cinder_pelt_.**

**Sorry if anyone is disappointed that I skipped a moon ahead. I can write some pretty angst stories, but even I don't want to go through the details of Cinderheart's slow death during the last moon of her life. Well, it's not so much depressing as it is boring, but I digress... The point is, I skipped it because I want to get to the thick of the story. If it had a ten chapter introduction then I wouldn't make it through. Four chapters for the introduction is about all I can take. But I can officially, and quite happily, say that the introduction is over. Next chapter we get to dive into Cinderpelt's POV! We haven't seen that since the prologue, with the exception of the tiny bit last chapter that wasn't very involving. Next chapter we get to see Cinderpelt begin her revenge against all of the cats that led to her being denied entrance to StarClan, or at least she thinks. Or is that what really happened? You'll just have to wait until next time to find out!**

**Okay, I'm going to end the AN here before this sound any more commercial or promo ish. I have no idea when the next update is, but you can definitely look forward to it.**

**~Icy**


	6. Chapter 05: Change

**It's been almost two weeks since I updated. When I started this chapter it had only been four days. Oh, how time flies... when you forget about it...**

**Moving along...**

**Last time Cinderpelt escaped from the Dark Forest, leaving Cinderheart trapped in her wake. How will Cinderheart fare in the Dark Forest on her own? You don't get to find out today. I know you're disappointed, but we've had Cinderheart's POV every chapter so far (ignoring the prologue, of course). It's about time we get a full chapter of just Cinderpelt. Besides, we just saw her escape. Which is more interesting to see next: Cinderheart moping around the DF all by herself or Cinderpelt jumping into Cinderheart's life and pretending she's Cinderheart? Strangely enough (not really), the decision is mine to make, and I say we see Cinderpelt this chapter.**

**Enough with the rambling AN. On with the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**Change**

* * *

The gray tabby she-cat opened her eyes. She quickly stood up and turned her head, looking at the color of her pelt. She was surprised, amazed, and overjoyed all at the same time.

_It worked! I'm in Cinderheart's body!_

Cinderpelt purred. _This couldn't be going better._

"Cinderheart?" the voice was tentative. Cinderpelt moved her head to see Lionblaze poking his head through the den.

"Yes?" Cinderpelt replied.

"Do you feel like going on patrol today? Or even possibly mentoring your apprentice?" Lionblaze asked.

"Uh... I don't know..."

"You know, it would be nice if you were to actually mentor your apprentice like you're supposed to. You are her official mentor, after all..." Lionblaze chastised.

"Geez, I was kidding, Lionblaze. Of course I'll do it!" Cinderpelt exclaimed. "Wow, someone can't take a joke today..." she added as she walked by Lionblaze while she exited the den.

"Cinderheart, you're... you're okay today?" Lionblaze asked.

Cinderpelt turned back around to face him. "Well you don't have to sound so surprised! Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"That's what I've wanted to know," Lionblaze replied. "You've been so distant lately..."

"Have I? I hadn't realized it," Cinderpelt meowed. "I'm sorry if I offended you in any way."

"Cinderheart... you're almost _too_ different today. Are you sure you're okay?" Lionblaze asked tentatively.

"Of course I am!" Cinderpelt replied. "Geez, Lionblaze! Can I go train my apprentice or not? Stop being so worried about me and just let me live my life! I've done it before. I can take care of myself, you know."

"I know, but... lately you've been so sick... I can only assume you're feeling better now," Lionblaze added.

"Well, obviously," Cinderpelt meowed. "If I was sick then I'd go see Jayfeather like any other normal _warrior_ would do." Cinderpelt barely caught herself in time. It was surprising to call herself a warrior. It was something she'd never been. She'd been a mentor, but only with herbs and signs. She was looking forward to mentoring... whatever her name was. Cinderpelt decided to figure it out later.

"Just Jayfeather?" Lionblaze asked. "Not Leafpool or Briarlight?"

_Briarlight is a medicine cat now?_ Cinderpelt was shocked. She had no idea. _I really missed a lot, didn't I? Wow I really wish I could have seen what was going on while I was in the Dark Forest. I'm so sad that I couldn't..._

"I know Jayfeather helped you when you broke your leg, and I know he was able to help you more than Cinderpelt's medicine cat was able to help her..."

"Yellowfang," Cinderpelt couldn't help herself. She twitched her ear. It was a tad bit awkward hearing her own name and not being able to respond to it.

"I know Jayfeather was able to help you more than Yellowfang was able to help Cinderpelt when her leg broke, but..."

"You have no idea what happened to Cinderpelt," Cinderpelt meowed harshly. "My—her leg was broken worse than her—mine was." _Foxdung!_

Lionblaze sighed. "It's still confusing, isn't it? Even though it's been three moons now... It must be really confusing living with the memories of her memories... if that makes sense..."

"It makes perfect sense," Cinderpelt meowed distractedly. Her attention was turned to her brother, who was asking a couple of warriors to join his patrol.

"Good, because I have no idea of what else I can say if it doesn't," Lionblaze confessed.

"That's nice," Cinderpelt meowed, keeping her gaze on Brackenfur.

"Would you like to join your father's patrol?" Lionblaze asked, following her gaze.

"Yeah," Cinderpelt replied. "I'd like to take my apprentice with me."

"You'd better hurry, then. Brackenfur can get a patrol together really quickly," Lionblaze added.

"Thanks, Lionblaze," Cinderpelt meowed briefly.

"No problem," Lionblaze replied. "Hey Cinderheart," he added quickly.

"Yes?" Cinderpelt asked, barely remembering to stop at the sound of her niece's name.

"Do you want to go hunting together later?" Lionblaze asked.

_Sure..._ "Of course," Cinderpelt forced herself to reply happily.

"Great!" Lionblaze meowed. "We can go this afternoon, after you get back from patrolling with Brackenfur and training Lilypaw. Hey, I know you enjoy teaching how to hunt and track, but make sure you work on fighting some, too," Lionblaze added.

_Lilypaw... A name. That's good to know. No wonder Cinderheart loves you, Lionblaze. You're so useful!_

"Of course. I can work with her right after patrol," Cinderpelt added. "I'm sure she'll be excited."

"Absolutely," Lionblaze meowed. "You'd better go get Lilypaw now. Brackenfur's about to leave. I'll go tell Brackenfur that you're coming with him."

"Thanks, Lionblaze!" Cinderpelt meowed as she ran over to the apprentices' den. _It feels so nice to be able to run in sunlight. What a concept. Sunlight beaming down on my fur, warming my pelt... it's amazing..._

"Lilypaw!" Cinderpelt called, standing outside the entrance of the apprentices' den. "We're going to patrol! Come on! You should be excited! I'm going to take you to work on some fighting skills after the patrol!"

"Really?" the surprised voice came from inside the den.

"Of course!" Cinderpelt replied. "You'd better hurry up or Brackenfur will leave us."

"I'm coming!" the high-pitched voice nearly made Cinderpelt laughed. She forced herself to hold it together. Moments later the dark brown tabby she-cat bounded out of the den. The white patches were a blur as the apprentice ran across the clearing.

_Young apprentices... I forgot how energetic they could be..._

Cinderpelt cast a quick glance at the sky.

_Firestar, what would you happen to know about that? About as much as I do, eh?_

Cinderpelt purred in amusement as she joined the rest of the patrol at the camp entrance.

_Patrol with my brother and my new apprentice. Well, won't this be fun?_

* * *

**Out in the Forest...**

* * *

"You go ahead to to the border. I'll catch up with you in a minute," Brackenfur meowed, stopping to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" Lilypaw asked her father worriedly.

"I'm fine," Brackenfur promised. "Go on. I'll be fine."

"Go ahead, Lilypaw," Cinderpelt meowed to her apprentice. "I'll stay with him. Go on ahead with Hazeltail and Blossomfall," Cinderpelt ordered.

"Okay, Cinderheart!" Lilypaw meowed happily. She bounded off to follow after the two warriors.

"Why is she so excited?" Cinderpelt exclaimed aloud.

"You used to be like that," Brackenfur meowed to her.

"Yeah." _Is he talking about me or Cinderheart? I remember Cinderheart being energetic, but was she this energetic...?_

Brackenfur sat down for a moment. His breaths were short and quick. Cinderpelt closed her eyes. _I'm not a medicine cat anymore..._ She reminded herself. It felt more painful than she thought it would.

"Brackenfur, are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Cinderpelt asked worriedly. She sniffed the air and looked around. _Huh... it's the beginning of leaf-bare. I had no idea..._

"Cinderheart, are you sure Cinderpelt is gone?" Brackenfur asked, twitching his whiskers in amusement.

"I let her go," Cinderpelt meowed slowly, making sure she said the right words.

"You've said so before, but sometimes it doesn't seem like you have," Brackenfur meowed. "You know, I'm glad we have this chance to talk, because I've been wanting to ask you... Is everything okay? You've been kind of slacking when it comes to your daily duties lately."

Cinderpelt blinked. "I have been? I had no idea. Whatever happened is over now, I promise you. I'm all good now!"

"I can tell," Brackenfur meowed, purring in amusement. "You're almost as energetic as your apprentice is today."

"I'm really glad we have this chance to talk, too, because I want to ask you something," Cinderpelt meowed.

"Go ahead. Is this a father-daughter talk or a talk between friends?" Brackenfur asked.

"I'm not really sure..." Cinderpelt replied awkwardly. _It's a brother-sister talk, but I can't say that..._

"It's fine. It doesn't matter. What's wrong?" Brackenfur asked.

Cinderpelt waved her tail along the ground to move a couple of pine cones before sitting down. She closed her eyes, making sure she went along this the right way.

"Did you ever have anything you wanted to say to Cinderpelt? Any last words or anything? I know you didn't get to say goodbye to her. I—she was thinking about you when she died. She knew she was going to die, but she couldn't tell anyone. She didn't get to say goodbye. Was there ever anything you would have wanted to say to her if you had had the chance to say goodbye?" Cinderpelt asked awkwardly.

Brackenfur blinked in confusion. "Are you sure Cinderpelt is gone?" he asked again.

"I'm sure, _father_," Cinderpelt forced the word onto her tongue. It felt very strange calling her brother her father. "It's just... I know I let Cinderpelt go, but sometimes her memories come back, and... Well, her death has been bothering me lately. I know you two didn't get to say your goodbyes. I'm sure Cinderpelt is listening to us in StarClan right now, so is there ever anything you wanted to say to her?"

"There is, but it can wait until I see her in StarClan," Brackenfur replied.

"Are you sure? You don't want to say it now?" Cinderpelt asked.

"No. I'm sorry, Cinderheart. I know you're her reincarnation, but this is something that I only want to say to Cinder_pelt_, not Cinder_heart_. Please don't take it personally.," Brackenfur added.

"I'm not, but... what if now is the only chance you get? What if something happens to Cinderpelt before you join StarClan? What if now is the only chance you have to say what you want to say?" Cinderpelt asked, trying to get him to say it. _I'm right here, Brackenfur! Please, tell me!_ She knew she couldn't say it, but she wished so desperately that she could.

"Cinderheart, I'm sorry, but I'm determined to keep this between Cinderpelt and me. You're not a part of Cinderpelt anymore," Brackenfur added.

Cinderpelt dipped her head. "I understand..." she meowed softly. She lifted her head back up. "We should go catch up with the rest of the patrol now," she forced herself to meow.

Brackenfur nodded in agreement, standing back up. "Of course. Let's go." Brackenfur burst into a run, running past her.

Cinderpelt barely kept herself from shaking. _I'll never get to hear what you have to say, Brackenfur... I'm right here, and this time I don't think there's any going back..._

Cinderpelt shook herself to get it together again. She reminded herself why she was here in the first place. _StarClan betrayed me. I was sent to the Dark Forest when I didn't belong there. I wanted to enjoy my time down here, but it's time to start my revenge against everyone who was a part of keeping me from entering StarClan. I need to find out where to start._ Cinderpelt shook her head one last time before running off to join the patrol.

* * *

**Later, in the training clearing...**

* * *

"Try jumping a bit higher," Cinderpelt instructed.

Lilypaw tried the move again. She leaped up much higher this time, swiped her sheathed paw at where Cinderpelt's head would have been if she had not ducked at the last minute, and still had enough time to land solidly on all fours.

"There you go!" Cinderpelt encouraged her.

"Yay!" Lilypaw exclaimed.

"See? I told you that jumping up a bit higher would make it much easier. You didn't believe me at first, but now you believe me, don't you?" Cinderpelt added.

"Of course!" Lilypaw replied.

"Alright. I think that's enough training for one day," Cinderpelt meowed. "Why don't we go back to camp now?"

"But I still have a lot of energy left!" Lilypaw exclaimed.

Cinderpelt purred in amusement. "Do you want to catch some nice and warm, juicy prey for the elders then? Leaf-bare has just started, so we need to get the last bit of warm prey we can for a while. Make sure you give it to the elders first." Cinderpelt wasn't sure how many queens there were, if there were any, so she left them out.

"Shall I give some to the queens as well?" Lilypaw asked.

"Of course," Cinderpelt replied.

"I'm sure Squirrelflight would love a squirrel. Can I try and catch a squirrel? I know we haven't practiced climbing trees yet, but..."

"If you want to try it, then go ahead," Cinderpelt encouraged her apprentice.

"Really?" Lilypaw asked.

"Of course," Cinderpelt replied. "You know, I happen to be really good at climbing trees... Actually, why don't you stay away from catching squirrels for today? We can work on climbing trees tomorrow."

"Really?" Lilypaw asked excited.

"Yes, of course!" Cinderpelt replied, purring in amusement. "You really don't believe me, do you?"

"Well, it's just... we haven't trained very much over the last moon..." Lilypaw admitted awkwardly, shuffling her paws.

Cinderpelt blinked in thought. _Lionblaze, Brackenfur, and now Lilypaw... Cinderheart, what did you do over the last three moons that I missed out on?_

"I'm sorry, Lilypaw. I don't know what happened to me over the last moon, but I promise to make it up to you this moon. I'll train you twice as much!" Cinderpelt promised.

"Awesome!" Lilypaw exclaimed. "I'm already faster than Seedpaw! Now I can be stronger, too!"

Cinderpelt purred in amusement. "Run along, now. I'm sure the elders are hungry."

"Oh no! I almost forgot!" Lilypaw exclaimed.

"It's okay. I reminded you," Cinderpelt meowed in amusement.

"Thanks, Cinderheart!" Lilypaw meowed. Without another word she bounced away to go hunting StarClan knows where.

Cinderpelt sighed. _Thank the Dark Forest that's over... I'm not as good at fighting as Cinderheart was... After all, she was the warrior and I was the medicine cat..._

Cinderpelt suddenly shuddered.

_Oh no... I forgot. I'm supposed to go hunting with Lionblaze..._

Cinderpelt sighed. _Great Dark Forest he can be annoying... I mean, he was pretty useful this morning, but..._

Cinderpelt stopped mid-thought and transferred herself to another thought.

_Wait a minute... _Cinderpelt relayed her conversation with her new apprentice in her head. _Squirrelflight is a queen? I wonder how far along she is..._

Cinderpelt began to purr.

_It would be a shame if... her kits were to go missing soon after they were born..._

Cinderpelt shook her head. _No, that's not good. I'd rather hurt Leafpool first. Or Brambleclaw. Oh yuck... I've got to call him Bramble_star_ now... Well isn't that annoying...?_

Cinderpelt sniffed the air. She caught Lionblaze's scent. She followed it out of the training clearing. She walked slowly through the forest. She paused when she recognized a second scent.

_Icecloud._

Cinderpelt curiously picked up the pace. She stopped near the Sky Oak for a brief moment to catch her breath.

_I'm not used to running on four legs this much! I've been limping for most of my life, and in the Dark Forest I just walked because I was the only one in there. Running around never seemed this hard last time I had all four of my legs..._ Cinderpelt thought as she gasped for air. _I need to get in shape. I think I'll start going for walks every night to get back into shape..._

Cinderpelt forced herself to get back up and pick up the pace again. She skidded to a halt and barely stopped on time behind a bush at the Sky Oak. Lionblaze and Icecloud were having a conversation. They sat comfortably on the roots of the tree.

_What are they doing? _Cinderpelt wondered. She briefly scented the air, making sure the wind wasn't downwind. She barely suppressed a sigh of relief when she realized the wind was upwind, which had made it easier for her to find them in the first place.

"Cinderheart seems to be back to normal today," Lionblaze meowed.

"But what if she goes crazy again?" Icecloud asked. "She's the one that pushed you away! You're going to go right back to her because she's doing better today?"

"I don't know... I asked her to go hunting with me later. I figure I'll give her one last chance," Lionblaze admitted.

"Lionblaze! Think! She's supposed to be your mate, but she said she didn't need your help! Mates should be completely honest with each other! You know Cinderheart will always live part of a lie _because_ she's a reincarnation. Lionblaze, yesterday she told you she didn't need you! Do you really need a mate like her?" Icecloud flooded Lionblaze with questions.

Lionblaze remained quiet, but he seemed less and less sure of his opinion by the moment.

"Lionblaze, when Cinderheart started pushing you away, you came to me for help. Just like I told you you could. Lionblaze, you know I'll always be honest with you. I told you that Cinderheart would end up hurting you and I was right. And now I know I'm right again when I say that Cinderheart will end up hurting you again. You can't trust her, Lionblaze. Just because she's okay today doesn't mean she won't go back to being crazy tomorrow," Icecloud continued.

Cinderpelt forced herself not to step back. She dug her claws in the ground in an attempt to get herself to stop shaking.

_What is happening? What did Cinderheart do? I have to find out! How in the name of the Dark Forest is Cinderheart losing her mate to Icecloud?_

Cinderpelt was eager to listen for more, but all of her senses told her to run when she heard a cry for help. Lionblaze and Icecloud immediately jumped up and ran. Unfortunately, the cry for help was coming from behind Cinderpelt. Cinderpelt tried to turn around and run, but her tail got caught under a branch and it took her a minute to get it out from underneath. Lionblaze quickly ran by, not even noticing her, but Icecloud stopped when she saw her.

"What are you doing?" Icecloud asked her. "Were you listening in on our conversation?"

"No!" Cinderpelt exclaimed in fake shock. "I was just trying to find Lionblaze. He said we'd go hunting later but I didn't see him in camp so I followed his scent here. I was about to walk through the bushes and talk to him when my stupid tail got caught under this stupid branch. So, what were you doing with Lionblaze?" she asked.

"We were just talking," Icecloud replied.

"About what?" Cinderpelt asked.

"Nothing in particular," Icecloud replied. She started to awkwardly walk away, but Cinderpelt stopped her.

"He's _my_ mate. You know that, right?" Cinderpelt asked.

Icecloud turned back around. "I never gave up."

"Don't you mean you never _will_ give up?" Cinderpelt meowed.

"I never gave up, and it paid off," Icecloud meowed. "He's not your mate anymore. Yesterday you told him you didn't need him. Who do you think was there to comfort him when you did?"

"Wh—what?" Cinderpelt stammered. _Cinderheart really told him that?_ Cinderpelt recalled Icecloud saying something about that, but she had been distracted by the scream to process it until now.

"He needs someone he can rely on. _You_ are not someone he can rely on. You hurt him, Cinderheart. I will never hurt Lionblaze. I will take much better care of him than you ever did," Icecloud added.

"But he's _my_ mate..." Cinderpelt whispered.

"Not anymore. Lionblaze hasn't officially agreed to being my mate yet, but you can tell that he's not your mate anymore," Icecloud meowed. "He still loves you, but you hurt him. It just takes time for that to settle in. When it does, I'll be there for him. It'd be best if you stayed away from."

Icecloud started to walk off again, but Cinderpelt quickly caught her off guard.

"Fine, then. You can have him."

Icecloud turned around. "What?" she exclaimed.

Cinderpelt walked up to Icecloud and put her nose in her face.

"You can have him," Cinderpelt repeated.

"You're not being serious, Cinderheart. You love him!" Icecloud exclaimed.

Cinderpelt kept her stare even.

"D—don't you...?" Icecloud stammered.

Cinderpelt stepped away. "I've got more important things to worry about," she meowed, remembering that there was a cat who was crying for help.

Icecloud took it the wrong way. "You've got things more important than losing your mate to worry about? What kind of heartless cat are you?" she exclaimed.

"Cinderheart loves Lionblaze. Cinderpelt hates him," Cinderpelt meowed coldly, suddenly letting go of trying to be Cinderheart.

"Great StarClan, I told Lionblaze that reincarnations were unstable!" Icecloud exclaimed.

"You'd better be glad there's a cat who needs my help. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to guarantee your life at this moment," Cinderpelt growled before turning and running away. She skidded to a halt, nearly hitting Lionblaze in the process, when she found them.

"I was too late..." Lionblaze whispered hoarsely.

Cinderpelt fell down to her paws as she processed the sight in front of her. An unstable branch fallen from a tree due to the weight of a cat. Another cat standing underneath. The scene ended and the picture came back. Both cats lay in front of her. She put her nose to their fur. Cold. Both cats were dead. One of them Cinderpelt could care less about. The other one, however, was devastating.

The cat underneath the branch had been Briarlight. The cat standing on the fallen branch had been her brother.

Cinderpelt closed her eyes.

Brackenfur was dead.

* * *

**I could have split this chapter into two chapters, but since I took so long to update I figured I'd make up for it by making this one long chapter.**

**A lot happened, but I don't have much to say. I'll just let everyone process what just happened rather than throwing questions out into the air for next time.**

**So now we've seen Cinderpelt down in the real world. About time to go back up and see what Cinderheart's up to, eh? But you want to find out what happens to Cinderpelt now that Brackenfur's dead! You'll just have to wait for the next chapter and the chapter after that. Next chapter is Cinderheart all alone in the DF, but chapter after that we get to continue Cinderpelt's story down in the real world.**

**Look forward to it!**

**~Icy**


	7. Chapter 06: Discovery

**On our last exciting episode we ended with the cliffhanger of Cinderpelt finding her brother dead. Now we come back around to see how Cinderheart is doing in the Dark Forest. You'll soon found that things aren't looking so good for either of the two.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Discovery**

* * *

Harsh winds raged above her head. The tips of her ears were nearly frozen by the icy frost in the wind. The gray tabby she-cat flattened her ears to her head to try and get them out of the cold. Just as one wind finished another started, colder and moving even faster than the one before. She flattened herself as close to the ground as possible. Her eyes started closing themselves. She forced them to stay open at first, but soon enough the winds closed them against her will.

Finally, when the winds died down, she stood to her paws.

"StarClan, save me..." she rasped between gasps for air.

She stood still for a few more minutes to catch her breath. When her breaths were even again, she broke into a run to try and warm herself up. Her run didn't last very long. She quickly grew tired and sat back down.

Cinderheart was miserable in the Dark Forest. The weather inside the Dark Forest got colder and colder every day, however long a day was in the Dark Forest. Cinderheart had given up on finding out. She was all alone in the vast Dark Forest. There was no prey in the Dark Forest, yet Cinderheart wasn't hungry. She hadn't eaten anything since her stay in the Dark Forest had begun, but she still wasn't hungry.

Cinderheart was slowly beginning to learn how the Dark Forest worked. She understood that her body was no here, that it was only her spirit which walked these cold lands. All of the Dark Forest residents had died during the war, so for the exception of Cinderheart it was empty. It was completely abandoned.

Cinderheart let out a huge sigh. She was extremely tired, yet she didn't feel the need to sleep. She was all alone in a creepy, dark forest where she could only see anything because she had been there for so long. There was no way for her to get out and there was nothing to occupy her time while she was there. She honestly wasn't sure which was worse, being cold and miserable or bored and miserable.

Cinderheart decided to try and run again to warm herself up. Moments later, after the slightest of slips in the mud, Cinderheart's face met the cold marshy grounds. Losing all faith in the existence of this thing called luck, Cinderheart groaned as she got to her paws. Well, she kind of got to her paws. On her way back up she slipped again and fell back down. She just decided to lay there for a while.

_I've got nothing else to do... I may as well just leave my face in the dirt..._

Cinderheart had heard stories before. She didn't think the weather effected StarClan. Was the Dark Forest supposed to be different? Cinderheart wanted nothing more than to ask Jayfeather about it, but she couldn't. She couldn't ask Jayfeather and she couldn't ask anyone else about it.

She was all alone.

It sucked.

A lot.

Cinderheart briefly closed her eyes, wondering if sleep was possible.

_Get up,_ she told herself.

Her tail twitched, but she remained on the ground.

_Get up, Cinderheart! You've got work to do?_

_Really? There is nothing for me to do here,_ she argued with herself.

_You could at least get to know the area better. You haven't been very far in the Dark Forest._

_Are you kidding? This place is huge!_

_Then look around for some clues or something! Surely there's got to be a way to get out! Or at least a way to figure out how Cinderpelt brought you here! Maybe you could bring her back!_

Cinderheart jerked herself up.

_That's a really good idea._

Cinderheart got to her paws, staying up this time. She blinked.

_I just had a conversation with myself._

She shook her head.

_I'm losing my mind..._

* * *

**One Boring Walk Later...**

* * *

Cinderheart shook her fur to try and get some of the mud off, but it was of no use. Mud always seemed to be clamped to her pelt these days. She couldn't wash it off. Licking it just made it stick. The only rivers in the Dark Forest she could find so far had all seemed to been eroded over by dirt, turning it into mud as well. The rivers that didn't have mud were still a swampy brown and were disgusting. Cinderheart had ignored the uncleanliness of the Dark Forest as much as she could during her stay there so far, but the desperate need to clean the mud out of her pelt reminded her of it.

She let out a low growl.

"If I could just find a river..." Cinderheart hissed aloud, somehow convincing herself to keep from cursing StarClan while she was at it.

Cinderheart took a few more steps forward through the raindrop-covered grass. It would have been a beautifully dappled scene if there had been some sunlight or sunshine.

_If only,_ Cinderheart thought wishfuly.

Cinderheart crouched down to leap over a fallen branch, but she stopped herself moments before leaping. She nearly fell over again from the force. Once she had regained her balance, Cinderheart followed the branch back to its source. She realized the branch had not fallen from a tree; rather, the entire tree had fallen. Cinderheart slowly waded her way through the mud over to the tree. This tree was huge; it was bigger than the tree which had fallen in the ThunderClan camp! Her eyes could not make out the shapes on the other side. She was about to investigate, but something else caught her eye first. All she could feel was relief when she found a hole in the tree that wasn't facing upwards. Finally! A warm place she could stay at when the wind was having another fit.

Cinderheart climbed into the hollow of the tree and immediately felt relaxed. She curled up and placed her head on her paws, ignoring how hard the bottom of the tree was. It didn't matter to Cinderheart.

Suddenly she felt like she could sleep again. She closed her eyes. She was about to fall asleep when the sound of water caused her eyes to open. It wasn't the sound of rain she was used to. This water was different. It sounded like it was slowly trickling rather than pouring down from the clouds above. Cinderheart curiously climbed out of the tree hollow and knelt under the tree so she could crawl to the other side. She stretched her legs once she was on the other side. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Once she could make the shape out she gasped. What she saw would have made her heart stop if she had been in her body.

It was a cave! There was a cave inside the Dark Forest!

Cinderheart slowly padded into the cave, keeping watch for anything that could hurt her paws, such as stepping on pebbles or thorns. To her relief, there was nothing. The cave was safe.

Cinderheart padded deeper into the cave. The cave split into three different paths from here. It reminded Cinderheart of the tunnels which her best friend had lived in for such a long time.

_Hollyleaf, I'll never forget what you taught me about in the tunnels. You were my best friend. I don't agree with how you left us, but I respect you for coming back after everything that happened. Plus, you saved my former apprentice's life. You gave your life to save our Dark Forest spy in the war. No one could ask for more. Thank you, Hollyleaf._

Cinderheart suddenly felt warm from ear tip to tail tip. She was warmed by the comfort of the knowledge she had been given by her mentor, family, and friends. She decided to take the left path first. She padded through the tunnel and broke into a run when she saw it.

A pond! There was a river and a pond inside the cave! The river led to the pond.

More importantly, though, the river was clean. The water was clean. Cinderheart didn't hesitate in lapping up some of the clean water.

_Thank you, StarClan!_

After a few sips, Cinderheart felt refreshed. She felt tempted to wash herself off in the river, but she didn't want all of the mud to pollute the pond water. She started to walk upstream in an attempt to find some moss which she could use to either scrub the mud off or to sleep on. She froze mid-step when she heard a voice.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

**Nope, I'm not even going to let you know who it is yet! I'm just that evil. Cliffhanger after cliffhanger... I'm surprised none of you have tried to kill me yet...**

**Moving along...**

**Sorry this chapter wasn't nearly as long as the last one was. This chapter was a bit boring to write at first, though. I enjoy using dialogue along with descriptions to move the story along. In this chapter there wasn't much for dialogue opportunities, for obvious reasons, so it was quite the challenge for me to keep moving with all of those descriptions.**

**I'm not going to promise the next update will be quick, nor am I going to apologize for how long this one took, but I can tell you that next chapter we'll be going back to Cinderpelt to see how she's coping with Brackenfur death. Or will she be coping? What's better to distract a revenge-hunting cat than a new possibility for revenge? Meanwhile, Cinderheart's finding weather problems and a cave in the Dark Forest? Is that even supposed to happen?**

**All will be explained. Eventually. You'll just have to keep reading to find out! Enjoy and look forward to the next chapter!**

**~Icy**


	8. Chapter 07: Done

**Guess who has been so busy over the past week that they forgot about fanfic altogether?**

**We're just gonna move along without answering that question because it was rhetorical and you know the answer anyway...**

**I've kept you waiting long enough, so let's go ahead and start the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**Done**

* * *

"Hey, I need to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

"I've wanted to say it for such a long time, but I never could... I'm sorry I never told you."

"Never told me what?"

"That I knew I was going to die. I should have told you..."

"No, not telling me was the right thing."

"But..."

"Listen, Cinderpelt. I can never repay you for what you did. You gave your life to save my mate and my kits. No brother could ask for more."

"Brackenfur, you're the best..."

"...brother anyone could ever ask for. I'm sure you're happily rejoicing with Cinderpelt as I speak."

Cinderpelt blinked. Thornclaw's voice brought her back from her daydream.

Thornclaw stepped back, signaling he was done. Bramblestar took the opportunity to jump up onto the highledge.

"Brackenfur's life was not one of pure joy, but I'm sure he is living the peaceful life he deserves in StarClan now. I'm sure he and his sister are watching us from StarClan," Bramblestar added.

_Another tough blow... They're determined to make me angry, aren't they?_ Cinderpelt twitched her tail-tip.

"However, life moves on. Although this is a day of sorrow, it is also a day of happiness," Bramblestar continued.

"How?" one warrior called out.

"With the loss of one warrior, we gain two new warriors. Cherrypaw, Molepaw, please step forward."

"This is happening today?" Cherrypaw exclaimed.

"No way!" Molepaw exclaimed.

"Yes way," Bramblestar meowed.

Several cats in the crowd purred in amusement. Cinderpelt was not one of them.

_Keeping Clan morale up may work for you, but it won't work for me. I'm not a part of this Clan. Haven't been for quite some time, now..._

Cinderpelt zoned out as Cherrypaw and Molepaw made their vows. She didn't notice their new names until she realized the Clan was calling them out.

"Cherryfrost! Moleheart! Cherryfrost! Moleheart!"

Cinderpelt didn't join in the cheering. She didn't feel like it. It wasn't her place to. As soon as the cheering was over, Cinderpelt remembered that the two new warriors were supposed to be her niece and nephew. _Huh. Probably should have cheered for them... Oh well..._

"Cinderheart!"

Cinderpelt almost didn't turn her head. She caught herself at the last moment and forced herself to face her mate. Well, the cat who was supposed to be her mate, anyway...

"That's me," Cinderpelt replied.

"We didn't get to go hunting yesterday. Can we go today?" Lionblaze asked.

"Shouldn't you be organizing patrols?" Cinderpelt asked coldly.

"Already did. I'm good to go for the day," Lionblaze replied.

"You didn't put yourself in any of the patrols?" Cinderpelt asked. "We lost two cats yesterday and today the deputy isn't going on patrol? Is that such a good idea?"

"Well, I..."

"No, you don't get to speak. You need to do better than that, Lionblaze. The Clan is counting on you," Cinderpelt snapped.

Lionblaze flattened his ears. "I'm sorry, Cinderheart... You're right. I wasn't thinking properly. All I could think about was going hunting with you." He blinked, hoping for a positive reply. Cinderpelt wasn't about to give it to him.

"What do you want me to say? Aww, that's so sweet? Tough luck. Okay, I'll admit, it's a kind gesture, but it's really unnecessary," Cinderpelt meowed coldly.

"Unnecessary? What's that supposed to mean?" Lionblaze asked.

"It means it's not needed," Cinderpelt retorted in reply.

"I know what unnecessary means!" Lionblaze exclaimed.

"Then why did you ask what it was supposed to mean?" Cinderpelt retorted.

"You know what I meant!" Lionblaze meowed.

"Of course I did," Cinderpelt replied. "I was just teasing you."

"Why?" Lionblaze asked.

"Because it entertains me," Cinderpelt replied.

"Come on, let's just go hunting. If we're going to talk, then we shouldn't do it here in camp," Lionblaze meowed.

"Hey Lionblaze! Are you going hunting?" Icecloud asked, running up to them. "Can I join you?"

"Sorry, Icecloud, but I wanted to go hunting with Cinderheart. Alone," he added.

"Oh," Icecloud meowed shortly.

"Sorry. Perhaps another time," Lionblaze meowed.

"I'll hold you to it," Icecloud meowed. "Is there another patrol I can join?" she asked.

"I think they all left already. You can go hunting on your own if you want, though," Lionblaze meowed. He was looking Icecloud in the eyes. They shared a moment of silence as their eyes locked, almost as if speaking with one another. Cinderpelt barely kept herself from gasping out loud when she realized it.

_He's going to have Icecloud follow us to make sure things don't get out of paw! Seriously? You hate me that much, Lionblaze? Cinderheart has a terrible choice in mates! Unless..._

Cinderpelt blinked.

_Unless this is all Cinderheart's fault... Just what did she do while I was gone? I really wish I could find out..._

It hit her.

_I could always ask him..._

Cinderpelt twitched her ear. _That's it! After this hunting expedition, I'm going to visit Jayfeather!_

Realizing they were still silent, Cinderpelt decided to break the silence.

"We should go while the sun's still up," she retorted.

Icecloud glared at her. "Seriously?"

"Awkward silence is awkward silence," Cinderpelt countered back.

Icecloud sighed. "You make no sense..."

_Don't make any sense._ Cinderpelt decided not to make her too angry. She simply turned around to lead the way out of camp before things could get anymore awkward.

_This needs to end..._

* * *

**One Awkwardly Quiet Walk Later...**

* * *

"Cinderheart, I know I asked you to come hunting, but I don't plan on hunting. We need to talk," Lionblaze added.

"I know we do," Cinderpelt replied. "That doesn't mean I want to."

"Let me start it, then. I love you, Cinderheart. You know I do. But you're gone. The Cinderheart I fell in love with is gone. You're not Cinderheart anymore. You're someone else. I don't know who you are, but it's not Cinderheart, that's for certain," Lionblaze meowed.

"Cinderpelt?" Cinderpelt suggested, testing her luck.

"No... Cinderpelt is too good for this. Cinderpelt is much better than this. Cinderpelt is..."

"You didn't know her!" Cinderpelt snapped. "Who are you, Icecloud?"

"No, but you're definitely not Cinderpelt!" Lionblaze hissed. "From everything I've heard from the older warriors, Cinderpelt was a cat who deserves the highest respect. You, whatever you are... deserve no respect whatsoever."

"Neither do you." She hadn't meant to say it, but the words had come out before she could stop them.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lionblaze exclaimed.

"You're not acting like one of the Three," Cinderpelt meowed. "You're not acting like a very respectable cat, either. Respectable cats don't throw insults at each other. Deputies and medicine cats shouldn't throw insults at each other."

"You're not a medicine cat," Lionblaze reminded her coldly.

"You're not a deputy," Cinderpelt countered back.

"Cinderheart, I don't think you know who you are, either," Lionblaze meowed.

"I know who I am," Cinderpelt hissed. "I'm just not telling you."

"Then we're done," Lionblaze meowed.

"What?" Cinderpelt was caught off guard.

"We're done. We're no longer mates. You aren't the cat I love anymore, Cinderheart. I love someone more now," Lionblaze added.

"Icecloud."

"Yes," Lionblaze replied. "She was right, you know. You are unstable."

"I'm not the only one who has changed," Cinderpelt meowed coldly.

"Maybe not, but you certainly didn't help the cause."

Cinderpelt turned around to see her suspicions were true. The annoying white she-cat padded into the clearing.

"Hello, Icecloud," Cinderpelt growled.

"Hi, Cinderheart," Icecloud replied cheerfully. It immediately faded away. "Let's get down to business, shall we? I don't want to see you anywhere near Lionblaze ever again."

"That's a bit harder than you'd think... I mean, I know your tiny little mind can barely handle it, but you'll have to make room for it somehow because this is something you need to get into your head," Cinderpelt began.

"I don't think so. It's the other way around, Cinder_heart,_" Icecloud meowed coldly, cutting her off. "Cinderpelt is gone. Or maybe she isn't. Whatever it is, and whoever is there inside that messed up head of yours, you need to settle it out. Right now it's as if there isn't even a full cat in there. It's like there's a body with a spirit walking around in it, but that spirit doesn't know where its body is. It's like the spirit isn't properly embedded into the body. What I'm trying to say is there's a disconnection and it's interfering with your everyday functions. You no longer possess the ability to properly communicate with other cats. Your words belong to neither the Cinderheart we know nor the Cinderpelt that the older warriors knew. Something has changed. Figure it out and piece it together or fall apart and turn into a useless heap of nothing."

Cinderpelt closed her eyes.

"You don't know the first thing about me," she growled.

"I think I do," Icecloud meowed.

Cinderpelt opened her eyes.

"No, you don't. If you did, then you would know who I am. Let me introduce you. I'm Cinderpelt and you've pissed me off."

* * *

**Before you say it, I'm going to acknowledge it. Yes, I know that being "pissed off" is not in the warriors' vocabulary. However, I could not think of another way of saying it that gave the same effect.**

**Moving on.**

**This chapter was a bit short, but hey, it's an update. A long-awaited one at that. My excuse: AP exams. Well, 1 AP exam, but still. However, this doesn't mean updates are good to go now. I have exams in a couple of weeks, so don't get your hopes up until June.**

**Anyways...**

**We all thought Cinderpelt was going to keep her cover for quite some time before she finally slipped. Nah. Knowing how thin her patience has gotten since her elongated stay in the Dark Forest, I figured this would be more realistic. But is Cinderpelt truly as evil as she promises to be? On the other side of things, who is it that found Cinderheart in the Dark Forest? How is someone still in the Dark Forest after the war?**

**Again with me asking all the annoying questions, I know...**

**Sorry if the beginning of the chapter was a bit confusing. I tried to make the transition from Cinderpelt's daydream clear without taking up half a page to do it, but if I failed and it was really confusing then let me know and I won't do it again.**

**See you next chapter!**

**~Icy**


	9. Chapter 08: Trapped

**This is very awkward for me, but I want to go ahead and address this issue and get it out of the way so we can get back to the story. It has been brought to my attention that the scene in chapter 6 where Cinderheart finds the clean water and then is approached by a strange cat in a cave in the Dark Forest is very similar to a scene in someone else's fanfic. I would like to go ahead and clear this up now: I had no idea such was the case. I have never read that other story before, so I had no way of knowing the scenes were very similar. I wrote the scene in chapter 6 based on my own idea, not someone else's idea. Anyone who has ever read any of my stories knows that I have no reason to use someone else's idea. Honestly, I think it's a disgrace to need to use someone else's idea and not be able to come up with your own. As a fanfic writer who often has to fight with the other ten ideas in my head and struggle to focus on one in time to update the current fanfic instead of starting nine others, I absolutely have no problem coming up with ideas on my own, and therefore no reason to plagiarize the work of another writer. I would like to apologize to the other writer that this has happened, and I would like to announce that if too many people have a problem with that one scene, which I swear to everything I hold sacred that I came up with on my own and then found out it was similar to a scene in another writer's story, then I will take this story down. If this coincidence becomes too much of an issue and that becomes the only thing reviewers can focus on instead of the actual story, then I will take this story down.**

**Now I would like to move on and get back to the story.**

**Last time on our exciting episode, Cinderpelt revealed to Lionblaze and Icecloud that she is indeed Cinderpelt and not Cinderheart, but they didn't believe her. Will they pay the price? You won't get to find out this chapter. Disappointing, I know, but this chapter it's Cinderheart's turn. You finally get to find out who it was that greeted Cinderheart in the Dark Forest when there's not supposed to be anyone left. I'm pretty sure it's been at least a month, if not more, since I left you hanging on Cinderheart's recent cliffhanger, so we'll go ahead and move on to the chapter without further interruption.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**Trapped**

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Cinderheart jumped. It wasn't a voice she recognized. There weren't any Dark Forest survivors from the war.

So who was talking to her now?

Not even attempting to hide her surprise, Cinderheart turned around to see who it was. She gasped when it hit her.

This was one of the cats who had mentored her former apprentice before the war. This tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat was glaring at her with a stare so angry that Cinderheart was surprised she hadn't turned tail and ran when she turned around. Perhaps it was curiosity which kept her there. With only a brief second thought about how Cinderpelt's memories had suggested Cinderpelt was always curious, Cinderheart admitted to herself that it was indeed her curiosity which kept her there.

Realizing her lack of response was making the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat even more unhappy, Cinderheart decided to break the silence. One word was all she needed.

"Mapleshade."

"How do you know my name?" Mapleshade spat almost immediately after Cinderheart had spoken.

"I've heard a lot about you," Cinderheart replied.

"Then you should be scared. You should have run away from me. Why haven't you?" Mapleshade growled. "Why are you so calm right now?"

Cinderheart almost purred in amusement. "I'm honestly wondering the same thing. Do you know who I am, Mapleshade?"

Mapleshade blinked. "No. I wouldn't have questioned you if I did."

"Cinderheart," Cinderheart meowed. "Cinderpelt's reincarnation. You've probably heard of me."

"Oh, it's you? You're _her_? No wonder you're so calm! Are you going to be as annoying as her, too? She would not shut up when she found me! I had to hide in these caves ever since! She never explored outside of a very small portion of this Dark Forest, so..."

"I'm not Cinderpelt," Cinderheart hissed. "I'm Cinder_heart_. You need to get that into your head right now."

"I see no difference," Mapleshade retorted her observation. "She got this angry pretty quickly, too."

"She stole my life!" Cinderheart exclaimed. "I would never do that to anyone, no matter what happened!"

Mapleshade narrowed her eyes but remained silent.

"I don't belong here. I don't belong here, Mapleshade. Can you get me out of here?" Cinderheart begged softly.

Mapleshade sighed. "She told me you were weak. She told me you would probably beg for help. Listen, Cinder_heart_, I don't know how Cinderpelt did this to you. I wish I did, but I don't."

"I'm not weak!" Cinderheart snapped, raising her voice again. "I just... I got cheated of what is mine."

"You think?" Mapleshade asked. "The moment Cinderpelt left you, you started dying. You were never supposed to live in the first place."

"So I've been told," Cinderheart muttered.

"Really?" Mapleshade exclaimed. "You already know?"

"Firestar told me," Cinderheart meowed.

"Of course he did," Mapleshade meowed unhappily.

"So what do I do now, Mapleshade?" Cinderheart asked.

"You could help me," Mapleshade replied.

"Help you? _Help you?_ Why would I ever help you? You tried to corrupt my apprentice! You killed Spottedleaf! Why would I ever help you?" Cinderheart hissed.

"Because we're the only two left in this forest," Mapleshade replied.

Cinderheart froze. _She has a point,_ Cinderheart told herself. She remained silent.

"I'm sure you've realized this by now, but there's no one else in this Dark Forest. It's just you and me," Mapleshade meowed.

"Yeah, I noticed. You want to tell me how that happened?" Cinderheart asked.

"The gates to the Dark Forest are closed. Anyone who tried to escape back in here that wasn't killed in the war was kept from coming back in here," Mapleshade replied.

"Then how did you get in here?" Cinderheart retorted.

"I wasn't stupid," Mapleshade replied curtly. "Everyone else tried to stay and get their share of seconds. As soon as I killed Spottedleaf, I knew to get out of dodge as quickly as possible."

"If I remember correctly, you only ran away because Sandstorm chased you out..." Cinderheart meowed.

"You're not wrong," Mapleshade meowed, sighing. "Look, the point is, I didn't try to come back again. Everyone else tried waiting on Tigerstar, who ended up letting them down. The thing is, I don't work well with others. I much prefer to be on my own."

"So I ask again: Why would I ever help you?" Cinderheart meowed.

"Look, I was perfectly comfy on my own here until Cinderpelt showed up. I realized she came here before I ever did. That's when I knew something was wrong," Mapleshade meowed.

Cinderheart paused. "Mapleshade, why did Cinderpelt come here instead of StarClan?"

"I don't know," Mapleshade replied. "All I know is that Cinderpelt was furious that she was here."

"Cinderpelt didn't do anything wrong. She should have gone to StarClan," Cinderheart meowed.

"That's what I thought," Mapleshade replied. "Whatever happened to Cinderpelt caused her to change. Her anger and frustration took over her. All she wanted to do was get her revenge against anyone who caused her to come in here. She never told me who that entailed."

"Then my Clanmates are in danger," Cinderheart realized. "I have to help them!"

"You should think about helping yourself, first," Mapleshade meowed shortly.

"What?" Cinderheart asked.

"You're trapped here, remember? You need to get out. The only way you can do that is by bringing Cinderpelt back here," Mapleshade meowed.

"But she doesn't belong here," Cinderheart complained. "She belongs in StarClan. I'm sure it wasn't her fault she ended up here."

"Then whose was it?" Mapleshade asked.

"I don't know... but I'm sure they didn't mean it..." Cinderheart trailed off.

"Listen, Cinderheart, we have bigger problems. Take a look around you," Mapleshade suggested.

"You said something was wrong... You noticed something was wrong when you found Cinderpelt... Mapleshade, is there supposed to be a cave in the Dark Forest? With clean water?" Cinderheart asked.

"No."

"Then why is there a cave? _How_ is there a cave?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"The Dark Forest is changing," Mapleshade replied.

"Why?" Cinderheart asked.

"The Dark Forest is dying."

"Is that even possible?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"You're witnessing it."

"But..."

"The Dark Forest won't be the Dark Forest for much longer," Mapleshade meowed.

"Then what will it be?" Cinderheart asked. "What is the Dark Forest becoming?"

"Nothing."

"What?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"First the Dark Forest is changing to something much nicer than the Dark Forest, trying to get us to stay. Once we are trapped for good, then it will start fading away with us inside. When it fades away... we will fade away with it," Mapleshade explained.

"But we're already trapped here!" Cinderheart realized.

"_That_ is why I need your help. If we have any hope left of getting out of here, then we need to work together," Mapleshade meowed. "Cinderheart, will you help me?"

Cinderheart closed her eyes. She only thought for a couple of brief moments before responding.

"Yes. Yes, I will help you."

"Even though I tried to corrupt Ivypool? Even though I killed Spottedleaf? Can you look past what I've done and help us get out of here? The only place we have to go is StarClan. Are you really okay with me ending up in StarClan?"

Cinderheart opened her eyes. "I'll say it only once more. I'm not Cinderpelt. I'm not even like Cinderpelt. At least, not anymore. I'm not Cinderpelt, I'm Cinder_heart_. I don't care who you are or what you've done; no one deserves to fade away because they're trapped in a territory that no longer serves its purpose. At least, not on my watch."

"Really?" Mapleshade exclaimed.

"You're safe with me. I'm not Cinder_pelt_, I'm Cinder_heart._ I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

* * *

**I'm sure that's now how anyone expected things to go. Cinderheart and Mapleshade working together? Only something massively chaotic, like the Dark Forest fading away, could lead to them working together! Oh, wait a minute...**

**So just exactly who does Cinderpelt blame for her ending up in the Dark Forest, anyway? Who does she plan on hurting to get her revenge? Meanwhile, will Cinderheart and Mapleshade be able to find a way out of the Dark Forest in time before they fade away?**

**Here's a thought for you. In Fading Echoes, Spottedleaf and Jayfeather just simply walked over the border. Cinderheart hasn't even found the border yet, but why hasn't Mapleshade just crossed over the border? Why didn't Cinderpelt just cross the border when the war ended?**

**Find out more next time!**

**~Icy**


	10. Chapter 09: Ignorance

**Okay, let's see... Last time on our exciting episode, uh... Well crap, what happened again? Oh yeah. See, it's been a while... It's almost been a month since I updated. Sorry about that.**

**Let's go ahead and get along with the chapter, shall we?**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

**Ignorance**

* * *

The reactions she received were the exact opposite of what she had expected or hoped for. The reactions she received were pretty boring, actually. Lionblaze just stared at her with his mouth gaped open while Icecloud made it her lifelong duty to tell her how wrong she was.

"You? Cinderpelt? Good luck! You're not..."

"You don't know me, Icecloud," Cinderpelt hissed. "I died before you were even born!"

"Common knowledge," Icecloud retorted. "You have no real proof that you are Cinderpelt."

"StarClan told me I was going to die before I died. That's not common knowledge," Cinderpelt snapped.

"Yeah, but, see, here's the thing: anything that _might_ be able to prove you are Cinderpelt won't work because you, Cinder_heart_, have seen and felt all of Cinderpelt's memories before. You're a reincarnation, remember?" Icecloud added.

"You won't let me forget," Cinderpelt muttered.

"I'll admit, when you first got Lilypaw as your apprentice, everything was fine, but something happened that night. The night day you acted strange, and your mental stability rolled off a cliff a little more every day since then. That lasted for about a moon. It got so bad that you wouldn't even go on patrol. You'd just stay and sleep in the warriors' den all day. You became a useless heap of nothing. Then, finally, about a quarter moon ago, you wake up one day and you're magically all better. Well, that was until Brackenfur died later that day. You know the rest of the story." Icecloud lifted a paw and began to wash it.

"What happened?" Cinderpelt asked.

"What do you mean?" Icecloud retorted. "Your life. Shouldn't you know?"

"I'm telling you that I don't know!" Cinderpelt snapped. "When I left Cinderheart I could no longer see what was happening to her. All I know is that one day everything was ready and I was able to switch places with her, but when I got here something was off. Cinderheart had changed. What changed about her?"

"She stopped loving me."

Cinderpelt nearly jumped. She had almost forgotten Lionblaze was there. He had remained quiet and immobile while she and Icecloud had argued back and forth.

"She did? Really?" Cinderpelt asked. "Why?"

"Something was bothering her. She wouldn't talk to me about it. She had a disturbing dream when it started. I think that dream got to her... I tried to get her to talk to me about it, but she insisted on keeping it to herself..." Lionblaze trailed off, shaking his head.

"That seems more like something I'd do..." Cinderpelt muttered.

"You're insane, Cinderheart," Icecloud snapped. "How much of this foxdung are you going to make up? Lionblaze, surely you don't believe her?"

Lionblaze looked away. "What was ready?" he asked.

"What?" Icecloud asked him.

"I wasn't asking you," Lionblaze snapped. He turned to Cinderpelt. "You said that one day everything was ready. What was ready?"

"I was finally able to switch places with her. It took time. Something happened..." Cinderpelt trailed off. "Oh. I know what it was."

"You do? What was it?" Lionblaze asked.

"It didn't hit me until now, but... I finally know. I finally figured it out..."

"Will you stop messing with my mate?" Icecloud snapped. "You're confusing him!"

"Are you content being his second choice?" Cinderpelt asked coldly.

"I'd be content as his fiftieth choice as long as I'm his choice! I knew he'd come around eventually," Icecloud added.

"Look into my eyes, Icecloud. Does it look like I care if Lionblaze is my mate or not? Cinderheart would be heartbroken. I, Cinder_pelt_, cannot give a rat's tail about it," Cinderpelt added.

"You're just playing this off, Cinderheart. You're making things up as you speak," Icecloud added, shaking her head. "You are not Cinderpelt."

"Yes I am!" Cinderpelt snapped. "What does it take to convince you that it's me?"

"Nothing," Icecloud replied. "Nothing you have to say can convince me that you're Cinderpelt instead of Cinderheart. Cinderpelt would never be this...mousebrained. Stubborn. Rude. Incoherent. Ignorant. Cinderpelt is an entirely different cat than this."

"You think you know me, but you really don't. I really wish Brackenfur was here right now. He would make things so much easier," Cinderpelt added, shaking her head. "You know, I thought this would be better. I thought this would be an improvement from what I had, but it really isn't. This world sucks. Honestly? If I could give it back to Cinderheart then I would. This world isn't worth it. This is reality. If this were a dream then I would have killed myself in order to wake up a long time ago."

"Nice speech. Still not affecting me," Icecloud retorted.

"It doesn't have to. I don't care about you," Cinderpelt added. She turned to Lionblaze. "Do _you_ believe me? At all?

Lionblaze opened his jaws to speak, but as his eyes moved from hers to Icecloud's he closed them again. He looked down at the ground. He clearly wasn't going to answer her.

Cinderpelt turned back to Icecloud. "Congratulations, Icecloud. He's all yours."

"I'm glad we've established that," Icecloud meowed. "It makes things much simpler now."

"It really does," Cinderpelt muttered to herself, turning around to leave. She took a step forward and then stopped herself. She turned back around.

"You know, Icecloud..." She trailed off.

"What?" Icecloud asked.

"Nothing," Cinderpelt replied, shaking her head. "You know, it's really nothing."

"Now you're just trying to frustrate me. Finish the sentence. Speak! Say what you were going to say!" Icecloud snapped.

Cinderpelt purred in amusement. "Ignorance really suits you."

"Excuse me?" Icecloud exclaimed. "Did you just say that _I'm_ ignorant?"

"Ignorance is your new best friend," Cinderpelt meowed.

Icecloud stared at her with her mouth gaped open. Cinderpelt forced herself not to laugh out loud at the pricelessness of Icecloud's obvious confusion.

"Oh wait, it's not your new best friend, it's your only best friend," Cinderpelt added before turning around and running away from the clearing.

Cinderpelt ran to the edge of the lake. The run was comforting. It was nice to be able to use all four of her legs again. She had been able to do this in the Dark Forest, too, but it felt much different with the sunlight warming her pelt. She briefly thought about Cinderheart in the Dark Forest.

_She's probably freezing her tail off. I don't want to imagine how much worse the wind and rain have gotten there since I left..._ It had only been a few days for Cinderpelt, but it had probably been at least a moon for Cinderheart.

_She's all alone in the Dark Forest... I can't imagine being there. I wish I knew why it rained in the Dark Forest all the time... I knew that it was always dark there, but I didn't realize that it always rained there... Of course, the rain didn't start until the day of when it was time to switch places with Cinderheart... Maybe those two things are connected?_

Cinderpelt shook her head to clear it.

_Why do I care about that? More importantly, I can't believe it's taken me this long to understand why Cinderheart has been so different! She flat out told me! I just never paid attention to it!_ Cinderpelt thought back to the night of when she had taken Cinderheart's place.

"_After all, I've waited so long for this day. Three moons," Cinderpelt added._

"_Three moons?" Cinderheart asked. "One moon ago Firestar told me that you'd been gone for two moons... So now you've been gone for three moons..."_

The scene threatened to keep on replaying in her mind, but Cinderpelt forced it to stop. She focused on her reflection in the lake. She saw a gray tabby she-cat.

_Cinderheart looked exactly like me as a kit... How did she end up so different? I'm supposed to be dark gray but I'm trapped in this gray tabby body... It's unnatural._

Cinderpelt shook her head.

_Why am I complaining about this? I'm the one who took her body from her!_

_But she would have died if I hadn't. Instead she now gets to live in the Dark Forest._

_But no one _wants _to live in the Dark Forest!_

_Her opinion didn't matter. You just wanted out. You didn't care about who had to move in to do it._

Cinderpelt shook her head again. Having an argument with herself in her head certainly wouldn't help.

_I need a distraction... Oh yeah! I need to get back at everyone who caused me to end up in the Dark Forest in the first place. How could I forget? I need to stop thinking about Cinderheart and remind myself why I'm here! I need to do what I set out to do!_

Cinderpelt lifted her head, jerking her gaze away from her reflection.

_Where should I start?_

Cinderheart suddenly heard a loud yowl of pain. She recognized it instantly.

_Perfect. I couldn't ask for better timing._

Cinderpelt turned around. She burst into a run.

_Squirrelflight just went into labor! This is a perfect opportunity!_

Cinderpelt began wondering what would be the most effective form of punishment for the queen as she continued in her run.

_It would hurt her if her kits were to be murdered, but that would be too obvious... Oh! What if they were stolen? That would be perfect! That's it! All I have to do is steal her kits! I could give them to another Clan! That would be priceless—oh yeah, ThunderClan is the only Clan that actually accepts unknown cats into their Clan... Well darn. I guess I'll just have to throw the kits into the lake._

Cinderpelt skidded to a halt.

_Throw the kits into the lake? I should make her watch as I do it!_

Cinderpelt shook her head.

_Nah. That's too cruel, even on my watch. She doesn't have to watch as I do it. She can just think they went missing. But what if I only took one kit? That would be so confusing and frustrating at the same time! That's what I'll do!_

Cinderpelt purred to herself as she started her run again.

_I've got a plan. Finally. Now all I have to do is act out on it._

* * *

**That's all we get for today! Don't you just love cliffhangers? I'm not really sure if this is a cliffhanger or not... Although, if you don't know what comes next like I do, then this probably seems like a really big cliffhanger, so I guess I'll call it a cliffhanger after all.**

**Before anyone mentions... Yes, there is a quote from a song. It's not a copyright infringement and it's not plagiarism, it is simply a quote. It is a quote from a song by Paramore and it fit the situation in this chapter. I obviously don't own the song, so insert disclaimers and whatnot here. (And just so we're clear, one quote does not make a songfic, so don't try pulling anything with the fanfic guidelines here, either.)**

**Can't wait to see what Cinderpelt does next chapter? Too bad. We're going back to Cinderheart and Mapleshade in the Dark Forest. Mapleshade asked for Cinderheart's help, but does she even have a plan? It turns out Cinderheart gets to be the brains of the team and she forms a plan pretty quickly. Anyone remember what I said in last chapter's AN? That comes into play next chapter. Look forward to it!**

**~Icy**


	11. Chapter 10: Resistance

**What is this? An update two days in a row? Is the world ending? What is going on? Only time will tell...**

**Being really dramatic about nothing important aside...**

**I'm really proud of myself for getting the next chapter up so soon. I've finally figured out what I want to do with this story. I had a vague idea before, but yesterday when I finished chapter nine I suddenly had a really good idea for this chapter and made sure to write it down before forgetting. An hour later I suddenly had the rest of the story planned out. I'm 99.9% sure that this story is going to be 16 chapters long. Longer than I expected it to be, but that's cool.**

**So without further ado, here's chapter ten!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

**Resistance**

* * *

"So..."

"So?"

"So... I finally agreed to help you, Mapleshade. What's next? What do we do now? All we're doing is sitting around in this cave," Cinderheart added.

"This very dry and comfy cave," Mapleshade corrected her.

"Hang on... weren't you in RiverClan?" Cinderheart asked. "Why do you care if we're dry or not? I should be the one who cares..."

"I wasn't always in RiverClan," Mapleshade muttered. "Wait, do you not know my story?"

"Nope," Cinderheart replied.

"I guess you should know, huh?" Mapleshade meowed, blinking her eyes a couple times.

"It'd be nice," Cinderheart admitted.

"Right. I'll keep this short and sweet. A long, long time ago..."

"That's not short or sweet," Cinderheart interrupted. "That's just plain annoying."

"...I was a young ThunderClan warrior," Mapleshade continued slowly after making sure Cinderheart was done.

"_What?_" Cinderheart exclaimed. "You were a ThunderClan warrior?"

"I was young and foolish. I fell in love with a RiverClan tom and had his kits," Mapleshade continued.

"Who are you, Bluestar?" Cinderheart asked.

"I was banished from ThunderClan when they found out my kits were half RiverClan."

"ThunderClan? Banishing someone for their kits?" Cinderheart didn't believe it. "ThunderClan has always been the Clan who shows compassion!"

"Not always," Mapleshade muttered. "I tried to take my kits across the river to RiverClan, but they fell and drowned. You know the old territories better than most these days; those stepping stones are hard enough to cross alone. Trying to carry kits across is something even more difficult."

"Oakheart did it," Cinderheart retorted.

"Do I look like Oakheart to you?" Mapleshade meowed sourly. She shook her head to clear it. "RiverClan blamed me for the death of my kits, which were supposed to be theirs, and banished me. Then I became a loner and... well, you can figure the rest out. I ended up here."

"What happened to the tom?" Cinderheart asked.

"Tom? Which tom?" Mapleshade meowed.

"Your mate," Cinderheart replied.

"He found himself another she-cat in RiverClan. Their grandson, Shellheart, was Crookedstar's father," Mapleshade meowed sourly.

"No wonder you ended up in the Dark Forest..." Cinderheart meowed slowly.

"Excuse me?" Mapleshade meowed.

"Well, it's just... I thought ThunderClan had always been the Clan who showed compassion... But if they were the ones who banished you first, then... maybe... Mapleshade, just how many warriors were there in the Dark Forest before the war?" Cinderheart asked.

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Mapleshade asked.

"There were so many warriors... most of them had been in here for seasons, had they not? There were fewer and fewer warriors ending up here once Firestar showed up to the Clans, weren't there?" Cinderheart asked.

"You're right. That's why we had to recruit living warriors," Mapleshade meowed. "Your apprentice showed promise. Her betrayal was astonishing. Well, it was astonishing to everyone else. I expected it. Hawkfrost was a fool."

"Of course. He tried killing his half-brother," Cinderheart put in.

"Where is this going?" Mapleshade asked.

"What was Tigerstar's story?" Cinderheart asked.

"Does it matter?" Mapleshade meowed. "I hate telling stories."

"Then what made you think you'd be a great mother?" Cinderheart retorted.

"That was seasons ago! This is now!" Mapleshade snapped.

Cinderheart purred in amusement. "Each warrior who ended up in here had a different story, didn't they? In the beginning, it was never their fault. All of their lives... well, they sucked."

"I'll vouch for that," Mapleshade muttered.

"So why didn't StarClan see that? Why couldn't they be forgiven?" Cinderheart asked.

"Are you really asking me that? Would you want Tigerstar or Hawkfrost to end up in StarClan?" Mapleshade asked.

"Well, no, but... what about you? Don't you deserve to be in StarClan?" Cinderheart asked.

"I became ruled by my anger," Mapleshade meowed. "I don't deserve to live in StarClan."

"But what about now?" Cinderheart asked. "How do you feel now?"

"Does it matter?" Mapleshade snapped suddenly. "What was done was done. I ruined many lives once I got here. There is no happy ending for me. I don't get a happy ending, Cinderheart. The closest second I can get to that is helping you get yours."

"But you asked for my help so we could both get out of here and into StarClan," Cinderheart meowed slowly.

"That was... a dream. That is my dream, okay? But it will never happen. I can't go to StarClan," Mapleshade meowed.

"Why not?" Cinderheart asked.

"I've done too many terrible things," Mapleshade muttered. "Just let it go."

"I can't let it go," Cinderheart meowed. "Something terrible happened to you. You were banished from your Clan by the cats that you loved and trusted. Something terrible happened to Cinderpelt that caused her to end up here. I don't know what. Now something terrible has happened to me. Cinderpelt brought me here and left me in her place to die. I don't want to turn out... like..."

"Like me?" Mapleshade asked.

"I don't want to be stuck here in the Dark Forest when it finally dies! I want to get out! But I don't want to do it without you," Cinderheart added.

"Why not? I've done many horrible things, some of them to the ones you love," Mapleshade added.

"Yeah, but..."

"Now you feel pity for me because you know my story? Your heart is too soft, Cinderheart," Mapleshade meowed.

"I want it to stay that way," Cinderheart meowed. "I don't want this place to change that. When Firestar told me I was going to die, I shoved everyone that I loved away from me so they wouldn't be hurt as badly. I thought that would work, but I don't think it did. I just caused them even more pain by pushing them away."

"They don't know that you're here," Mapleshade meowed. "They think you're just fine. Well, as long as Cinderpelt doesn't say anything stupid, anyway..."

"So what do we do?" Cinderheart asked.

"What do you mean?" Mapleshade asked.

"We need a plan to get out of here. Surely you have one, don't you?" Cinderheart added.

Mapleshade stared at her. She looked away and began washing her paws.

"You mean to tell me that after all this you don't even have a plan for getting out of here?" Cinderheart asked.

Mapleshade remained silent.

Cinderheart sighed. "I'm going to be doing all the thinking, aren't I?"

"Not true!" Mapleshade exclaimed. "I can help!"

Cinderheart gave her a silent glare.

"Sometimes..." Mapleshade added softly.

Cinderheart purred in amusement. "You know, Mapleshade, this bonding has been fun. I think we're going to get through this together and become best friends."

"That's nice..." Mapleshade muttered.

Cinderheart got to her paws. She turned around to look at the cave entrance and jumped as a loud boom of thunder shook the ground.

"Scared of storms?" Mapleshade teased.

"Bad history," Cinderheart replied. "My best friend nearly died in one."

"Who?" Mapleshade asked.

"Hollyleaf," Cinderheart replied.

"She saved Ivypool's life, didn't she?" Mapleshade asked softly.

"Yeah," Cinderheart replied. "Hollyleaf lost everything, but she somehow came back even stronger than before."

"Hollyleaf is better than me," Mapleshade reminded her. "I lost everything and folded. I went insane."

"Hollyleaf almost did," Cinderheart countered. "She ran away for a long time and lived in the tunnels, only to clear her mind. The time she spent away from us helped her."

"Hollyleaf was a strong cat. Stronger than me. I wasn't strong enough. I had nothing left. Hollyleaf had family, she just didn't know it," Mapleshade added.

"Hollyleaf saw everything in black and white. It was always clear whether something was good or bad. She came back seeing everything in shades of gray. It was a complete life change for her, but it worked. She died an honorable warrior of ThunderClan," Cinderheart went on to honor her best friend's memory.

"Alright, Cinderheart, you've trailed off again. Where are you going with this?" Mapleshade asked.

"I'm not sure..." Cinderheart admitted.

Mapleshade sighed. "Let me know when you get a plan, will you?"

"Black and white. A clear line. A visible line..." Cinderheart realized.

Mapleshade narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Cinderheart stared at the cave entrance. "The rain... it doesn't get into the cave."

"Duh. What are you, a newborn kit?" Mapleshade asked.

"There's a clear line at the cave entrance where there is and isn't rain... it's like a border! A border! That's it! The border, Mapleshade! The border!" Cinderheart exclaimed, turning back around to face the tortoiseshell she-cat.

"Border? What about it?" Mapleshade asked.

"We're over thinking this! All we have to do is cross the border into StarClan!" Cinderheart exclaimed excitedly. She paused. "Wait... why haven't you tried that before?"

"I told you, the Dark Forest keeps changing. I haven't been able to find the border," Mapleshade confessed.

"But you've stayed in this cave. Why haven't you really found the border?" Cinderheart asked.

"Change," Mapleshade replied. "I can't adapt to this change. I've been in this Dark Forest ever since we got here. Now it's changing and I can't find anything. Once I found this cave I stayed in it. I don't want to lose it. I may never find it again. I can't take that chance."

"So you've just been willing to die inside the cave?" Cinderheart asked.

"No..." Mapleshade trailed off, realizing Cinderheart was right. She just sighed and hung her head.

"Come on," Cinderheart meowed, padding over to Mapleshade and nudging her to her paws. "We're going out on an adventure."

"I hate adventures..." Mapleshade muttered sourly.

"At least this is a one-way trip," Cinderheart meowed. "At the end of this trip we'll have stars in our fur," she added, trying to comfort the distraught Dark Forest she-cat.

Mapleshade simply glared at her and grudgingly followed her out of the cave entrance.

* * *

**One Drenching Wet Walk Later...**

* * *

Cinderheart forced herself to pull her paws through the swampy water. She had to keep a positive attitude, or Mapleshade would turn back around and burst into a frantic run back to the cave. Mapleshade hated this weather even more than she did.

Cinderheart ducked down as a harsh gust of wind tried to throw her off her paws. After hearing a large splash and a meow of disgust, Cinderheart turned around to see that Mapleshade had fallen over.

"Ugh! I hate this!" Mapleshade exclaimed. She shook her head to try and get rid of the mud, but the rain just plastered it against her pelt before she could get rid of it. Mapleshade glared at her. "I really do hate this," she muttered.

"I hate it just as much as you do," Cinderheart meowed, trying to sound promising. She hated it a lot, but she had the feeling that Mapleshade hated it twice as much as she did, if not more than that.

Cinderheart turned back around, feeling relieved when the gust of wind was gone. She shook her head to clear it. She opened her eyes and gasped. She saw a tiny trickle of light in the corner of her eye. This sensation of relief was much stronger than when she had seen a trickle of light after training in the tunnels with her best friend right before the war.

Cinderheart burst into a run to follow the trickle of light before it was lost.

"Where are you going?" Mapleshade exclaimed.

"Follow me, Mapleshade! And keep up!" Cinderheart added, not slowing down in the slightest. She skidded to a halt as she arrived at her destination. At first the light burned her eyes, but after a few moments of adjusting the light was welcoming.

For the first time in a long time, Cinderheart saw light. It was starlight at that. After being stuck in the Dark Forest for such a long time, it was the best thing she had ever seen. It felt more warming from ear to tail-tip that going out into camp for the first time from the nursery felt.

"Mapleshade, we made it," Cinderheart meowed.

"StarClan," Mapleshade breathed.

"Go on, then," Cinderheart meowed.

"What do you mean?" Mapleshade asked.

"You try it first. See if you can cross it," Cinderheart added.

Mapleshade hesitated. "Are you sure? What if I explode or something?"

"You're not going to explode, Mapleshade," Cinderheart meowed. "Quit being preposterous and just go. You've got your whole afterlife ahead of you."

Mapleshade glared at her for a moment before turning back to the border. She tentatively put a paw over the border. It worked. Mapleshade briefly pulled her paw back and then leaped over the border. She landed cleanly on the other side. She turned around. "It worked! Cinderheart, it worked!"

Silence.

"Thank you, Cinderheart!" Mapleshade exclaimed.

Cinderheart only nodded.

Mapleshade's happy facial expression changed immediately. "Cinderheart, what's wrong?" she asked.

Cinderheart lifted a front paw. She tried to put it over the border, but an invisible barrier stopped her.

Cinderheart could not cross the border.

Cinderheart couldn't enter StarClan.

Cinderheart sat down and simply stared at the border.

Mapleshade jumped to her paws from where she had sat down. "Cinderheart, you helped me, and now I want to help you."

Cinderheart purred. "You really have changed, Mapleshade. You deserve a second chance. Enjoy your life in StarClan."

"But what about your second chance?" Mapleshade asked.

"This is it. I _am_ the second chance," Cinderheart sadly reminded her.

"That's Cinder_pelt_'s second chance. What about Cinder_heart_'s?" Mapleshade asked. "You've reminded me several times that you and Cinderpelt are two completely different cats. Now prove it to me!"

"I don't get a second chance," Cinderheart meowed crossly. "I'm not an individual... I'm just a reincarnation. I've been lying to myself all along..."

"That's not true!" Mapleshade exclaimed. "You are not Cinderpelt! You are Cinder_heart_!"

"If Cinderpelt isn't in StarClan, then neither am I..." Cinderheart meowed slowly and softly.

"Then let's go get Cinderpelt and bring her here!" Mapleshade exclaimed.

"But how?" Cinderheart asked.

"Cinderpelt summoned you somehow; let's find out how together! You saved my afterlife! Now let me save yours!" Mapleshade exclaimed. Cinderheart didn't bother reminding her that she was still alive and wasn't even on her afterlife yet. It didn't make any difference.

Mapleshade crouched down. She was moments away from leaping back across the border to reunite with Cinderheart, but she was stopped by a sudden white flash.

Cinderheart blinked.

The white flash was gone, but so was Mapleshade. So was the StarClan border. Everything was gone.

Cinderheart took a few moments to circle around and look at her surroundings.

She was back in the cave.

Deep within the Dark Forest.

The Dark Forest had changed again, leaving Cinderheart with it.

Cinderheart lost all hope. She laid down and buried her nose into her paws.

_Congratulations, Mapleshade. Enjoy StarClan for me, will you? I have no hope... There's no way I'm ever getting out of here..._

* * *

**Yes, the chapter ends here. Yes, I am very cruel. But don't worry, it gets better.**

**You really want to know how Cinderheart is going to get out of this one now, don't you? But not next chapter! We've got to get back to Cinderpelt, remember? What is she going to do? She's finally going to start acting out and get her revenge!**

**Or is she?**

**You'll just have to wait and find out! I doubt the next chapter will come as quickly as this one did, but you should look forward to it nonetheless!**

**~Icy**


	12. Chapter 11: Compassion

**_NOTE: My stupid self forgot that I killed off Briarlight, so she originally magically came back from the dead during this chapter. I've fixed that now. No more Briarlight. She's back in StarClan where she belongs in this story, not in the medicine cat den. Also, the changes weren't showing, so I had to delete the chapter and repost it. I'm really sorry if you already read this chapter and thought this was a new one._**

* * *

**I'm so happy! Someone finally noticed where the name Zero Two came from! To answer your question, Destiny Willowleaf, it did in fact come from Kirby. I was listening to the Kirby 20th Anniversary Soundtrack, which has Zero Two on it. Zero Two is my favorite song from that entire soundtrack. I had been pondering a good name for this fanfic for a few days and when I listened to this song I realized that it would make a good title for this fic, considering how Cinderheart is Cinderpelt's number two (since she's her reincarnation) but her zero at the same time (because she feels like a total failure and practically can't exist without her). I wondered when someone would notice, but I didn't think it would take this long. I'm glad someone finally noticed!**

**A frequent note of pondering seems to be who all Cinderpelt wants to take her revenge out on exactly. I was planning on taking care of that later in the story, and I will, but I'll go ahead and mention it now so that this can make sense. Cinderpelt has told herself she is getting her revenge against the cats who caused her to end up in the Dark Forest in StarClan, but really she just wants to make StarClan angry by hurting their "favorites," which include Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Bramblestar, Firestar (who is already dead, plus she loved, so she wouldn't do anything to him), Hollyleaf (who is already dead), Ivypool (who I've purposefully not given much attention to in this story after all the attention she got in RUTH), and the Three. Cinderpelt hasn't realized it yet, because she hasn't talked to Jayfeather or Dovewing and she's been distracted by LionXIce, but she will soon enough... Soon enough as in this chapter. I think.**

**Oops. Spoilers.**

**Before I say anything else that I don't mean to about this story, let's go ahead and get on with the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

**Compassion**

* * *

_I've got a plan. Finally. Now all I have to do is act out on it._

Cinderpelt waited impatiently as Leafpool helped Squirrelflight through labor. Cinderpelt waited behind the bushes, thanking the StarClan she used to know that the wind was going downstream instead of upstream. Squirrelflight gave birth to three kits. Cinderpelt couldn't see them well enough to find out if they were healthy or not.

"You're all done, Squirrelflight. Congratulations. You've done it," Leafpool meowed.

"For real this time," Squirrelflight meowed grudgingly.

"It's good experience for you," Leafpool meowed.

"I know you feel this pain, too. I felt this pain when you gave birth to Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf," Squirrelflight added.

Cinderpelt perked her ears up.

"Okay, you're right; this has been tough on me, too, but it's over. Now we can celebrate together," Leafpool added.

"With Bramblestar. They're his kits. Go get him. I want him to help me name the kits," Squirrelflight added.

"Alright. Do you need anything else? Poppy seeds or..."

"I'm fine, Leafpool," Squirrelflight promised.

"Alright then."

Leafpool quickly ran away, obviously not wanting to leave her sister alone for very long.

Squirrelflight closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "I'm so glad that's over..."

Cinderpelt waited as Squirrelflight's exhaustion grew greater. She started to zone off.

Her head dropped as she briefly fell asleep.

That was all Cinderpelt needed.

Cinderpelt quietly crawled through the bushes and picked up one of the kits.

This one was a brown-and-white tabby she-cat, almost a darker-colored copy of Leafpool. Cinderpelt ran away as quickly and quietly as she could. She didn't want to be there when Squirrelflight woke up, or worse, when Leafpool came back with Bramblestar.

Cinderpelt skidded to a halt when she got to the lake.

_All I have to do now is drop her in. She'll drown in less than a minute._

Cinderpelt slowly opened her jaws. She lowered her head and set the kit down as softly as she could, making sure the kit was safe and unharmed.

Cinderpelt took a step away from the kit.

_Come on... walk yourself into the lake... Please..._

Cinderpelt stared at the kit. It took a step towards the lake. Then it jumped back in surprise. It turned around and ran towards Cinderpelt. It rubbed its muzzle against her paws.

_It trusts me... She trusts me... with her life..._

Cinderpelt closed her eyes. _Please... turn around and go back towards the lake..._

Cinderpelt felt something crawling up her front leg. She opened her eyes to see a large spider. She shrieked and flailed her leg into the air to try and get it off. She froze in horror as she realized in the midst of flailing her leg she had hit the kit and sent it flying into the lake.

Cinderpelt's heart skipped a beat.

The tiny kit started flailing its arms around. It didn't cry for help, it just kept flailing its arms around.

_Why isn't she crying for help?_

Cinderpelt tried to look away, but she couldn't. She tried to let the kit drown, but she couldn't. She looked up at the kit and made up her mind.

_StarClan, no! Don't let her die!_

Cinderpelt leaped forward into the lake and grabbed the kit's scruff with her jaws. She swam back to shore as quickly as she could. She set the kit down once she was on solid ground again. The kit rubbed its nuzzle against her legs again, this time as a way of saying thank you.

_StarClan, please forgive me..._ Cinderpelt thought. She put her nose to the kit's head. _I'm so sorry I tried to kill you... Please forgive me, young kit..._

Cinderpelt suddenly lifted her head and stared at the kit. _All this time... it hasn't cried. Not once. Why not? It should be hungry by now! It should have cried for help when it was drowning!_

Cinderpelt picked the kit up again.

_I've got to take her back to Squirrelflight. Now. She needs to know._

Cinderpelt burst into a run.

_Leafpool needs to tell Squirrelflight that her daughter is mute._

* * *

**Back with Squirrelflight and Leafpool...**

* * *

"Where did she go?" Leafpool exclaimed.

"I don't know! I've been watching her this entire time!" Squirrelflight whined. "Leafpool, what if..."

"We'll find her, Squirrelflight. I'll send out search patrols," Bramblestar promised his worrying mate.

Cinderpelt took the opportunity and padded through the bushes. She set the kit down.

"Missing something?" she asked, trying to appear lighthearted.

"Where was she?" Squirrelflight exclaimed.

"I found her a little ways from here. She fell into a huge puddle," Cinderpelt quickly added.

"Thank you so much for finding her, Cinderheart," Bramblestar meowed.

"You saved her life," Squirrelflight put in.

"What are their names?" Cinderpelt asked, trying to change the subject.

"The ginger tabby tom is Emberkit, the ginger-and-brown she-cat is Pyrekit, and the brown-and-white tabby she-cat that you found for us hasn't been named yet," Squirrelflight replied.

"You got to name Emberkit and Pyrekit; can I name the third one?" Bramblestar asked gently.

"Of course! They're your kits, after all," Squirrelflight added.

Bramblestar pulled the brown-and-white she-cat to him. "How about Echokit?" he suggested.

"That's a beautiful name," Squirrelflight replied.

_That's just cruelty,_ Cinderpelt couldn't help but think. _You're naming the _mute_ kit _Echo_kit? I can't just stand here and do nothing about it!_

"Leafpool, can I talk to you for a moment?" Cinderpelt asked suddenly.

"Sure, uh... what's up?" Leafpool asked.

"Not here," Cinderpelt replied.

"Okay..." Leafpool meowed. She padded through the bushes and Cinderpelt followed. "What's wrong?"

"I think the kit that I found..."

"Echokit?"

"I think she's mute," Cinderpelt meowed.

"Why do you say that?" Leafpool asked. "I mean, I trust your judgment, being Cinderpelt's reincarnation and all, but..."

"She wasn't crying for help or anything when I found her. She was just flailing her arms trying to get out of the huge puddle. When I rescued her and set her down on solid ground she rubbed her muzzle against my legs but didn't cry or anything. Emberkit and Pyrekit? They're crying now. You can hear them too; they're hungry. Echokit? She's hungry but she isn't crying. She should be. Leafpool, it's not my place to tell them. I mean, it's kind of cruel to name a mute kit..."

"Echokit?" Leafpool finished her sentence.

Cinderpelt nodded to her former apprentice.

"I understand; I feel the same way, but how do we tell them?" Leafpool asked. "They're so happy... I can't just ruin that right now."

"You can't keep it from them, either," Cinderpelt reminded her. "I think it'd be worse if you waited and told them later. They need to change Echokit's name."

"Alright," Leafpool meowed. "You stay here, though; don't come in with me."

"Alright," Cinderpelt meowed. She watched as Leafpool padded back through the bushes. Cinderpelt then sat down to watch Leafpool through the bushes.

"Squirrelflight, can I see Echokit for a moment?" Leafpool asked.

"Sure," Squirrelflight replied. "What's wrong?"

Leafpool separated Echokit from her brother and sister and then sat down to watch her. The kit's jaws were open but no sounds came out.

"Squirrelflight, I..." Leafpool broke off. She began trembling.

"Leafpool, what is it?" Bramblestar asked.

"Spit it out," Squirrelflight demanded suddenly.

"I think Echokit is mute," Leafpool confessed.

Cinderpelt could watch no more. She turned around and burst into a run back to camp.

_StarClan, I'm so sorry I almost killed her... but don't punish her for this! Punish me instead! You've done it before, so do it again! Please, just don't punish the young kit. Please, just let her speak!_

* * *

**Back at Camp...**

* * *

"Hey Poppyfrost, have you seen Lilypaw?" Cinderpelt asked.

"No. Seedpaw and I just got back from hunting patrol, so I was going to give her the rest of the day off," Poppyfrost replied.

"I went hunting with Lionblaze this morning because he asked me to and now I'm back and want to train with Lilypaw. She should be here in camp, shouldn't she? She wasn't in the apprentices' den, though, so I'm starting to get worried..." Cinderpelt admitted.

"You went hunting with Lionblaze? How did that go?" Poppyfrost asked, nudging Cinderpelt with her paw.

Cinderpelt pushed her paw away. It was weird enough being Poppyfrost's aunt instead of her sister, but it was even weirder and more awkward because Cinder_heart_ and Lionblaze were no longer mates.

"He... we broke up," Cinderpelt confessed. "He and Icecloud are mates now."

"_What?_" Poppyfrost exclaimed. "Cinderheart, I'm so sorry!"

"Let it go," Cinderpelt muttered. "I want to train with Lilypaw to get my mind off of it."

"That's understandable. Want me to help you find her?" Poppyfrost offered.

"If you wouldn't mind," Cinderpelt replied.

"Who are you looking for?" Cinderpelt jumped. She hadn't noticed Millie walk over to them.

"Lilypaw," Cinderpelt replied.

"Oh, she's in the medicine cat den with Jayfeather," Millie replied. "I just came from there asking him to check up on Silverkit. I think she has a fever."

"Silverkit has a fever?" Cinderpelt asked.

"I think so," Millie replied.

"What about Lilypaw?" Cinderpelt asked. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know," Millie replied. "She was sleeping in a nest in the medicine cat den."

"I'm going to go check on her," Cinderpelt muttered before breaking into a run across the clearing. She burst into the medicine cat den and skidded to a halt, barely keeping herself from crashing into Lilypaw's nest.

"She's okay," Brightheart meowed.

"What are you doing here?" Cinderpelt asked.

"Getting a poppy seed. Amberkit had a nightmare and now she can't sleep at all," Brightheart replied.

"What's wrong with Lilypaw?" Cinderpelt asked worriedly.

"She's got whitecough, but with some proper herbs she's going to be okay," Brightheart meowed. "All she needs is..."

"Should I go fetch some catmint?" Cinderpelt offered. "I can..."

"Brightheart, can you go check on Silverkit for me? I need to talk to Cinder...heart," Jayfeather meowed.

"Why did you pause?" Brightheart asked.

"Take some feverfew with you," Jayfeather decided after a moment of thought. "Millie thinks Silverkit has a fever. She's probably just fretting, but take some anyway to appease her."

"Alright," Brightheart replied, purring in amusement. She grabbed some feverfew and then padded out of the den.

Cinderpelt turned to Jayfeather and stared into his eyes. He might be blind, but Cinderpelt knew he would know she was staring at him.

"Why did you really pause?" Cinderpelt asked.

Jayfeather lifted his head and matched his blind gaze even with hers. He only meowed one sentence, but one was enough.

"I know you're Cinderpelt."

* * *

**Once again, I bring you a cliffhanger! Yay! I didn't even mean for it to end up as a cliffhanger this time, but it did.**

**I'm updating three days in a row! Now I'm really proud of myself! I think I've decided to go ahead and finish this story before summer break ends. Gotta finish it before band camp or it is going to sit there and do nothing. That's right, I'm making it my goal to finish this story by mid-July. Shouldn't be too hard considering there's only five or so chapters left. But with my updating past? A normal of two weeks to a month per chapter? That's about to change. See, I've suddenly been motivated again. I truly think that the motivation this time is going to be enough to finish this story.**

**Okay, so I thought writing the scene with Cinderpelt and the kit was challenging from the perspective of wanting to make sure everything fit in the way it was supposed to, but then it turned out reading and revising that scene from a different perspective was even more challenging. It's kind of sad that my own stories are making me sad... Dang, I need to stop writing depressing stories... My happy stories never turn out very well, though. It's always the depressing ones that do the best. Everybody seemed pretty disappointed with the happy-ish ending of RUTH. Only time will tell if the same will happen with this story or not. Although, I've had the ending decided from the beginning, and I'm not changing it now, so... eh. There's sad parts and happy parts to it. A good story can't just end plainly as either all sad or all happy. I wouldn't want to give the readers of my story a poor ending. Even RUTH had happy parts and sad parts to its ending.**

**Alas, I digress.**

**Enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Look forward to the next chapter, in which we get a little bit of Cinderheart's POV plus a special POV! (That came out of nowhere, I know, but it's exciting nonetheless, so look forward to it!)**

**~Icy**


	13. Chapter 12: Desperation

**Okay, so I didn't update yesterday, but I'm back today! This is very good considering my past records with updates.**

**Right, so I won't keep you waiting any longer. Let's get back to Cinderheart being trapped in the Dark Forest, shall we?**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

**Desperation**

* * *

Cinderheart had never run faster in her life. She forced herself to ignore the rain throwing itself at her face as she ran toward the tiny dot of light. She was afraid of losing it.

Again.

The fear crawling through Cinderheart's veins allowed her to run even faster. It threatened to take over her, but she wouldn't let it. Right now there was nothing more important than catching up to the light.

The light came from the StarClan border.

Cinderheart felt herself getting closer. The light was more than a dot now. Hope threatened to flicker in her heart. She forced herself to ignore it. It would just make the disappointment hurt even more.

Cinderheart was now even closer to the border. Just a few more moments of running and she would be there...

Cinderheart suddenly lost control of the firm grip she had on her paws in the mud as a tree root tripped her. She fell down face-first into the mud. She lifted her head just in time to see another white flash. Groaning in anger and disgust, Cinderheart blinked and found herself in a different part of the forest, far away from the border.

_I'm probably all the way on the other side of the territory now,_ Cinderheart thought unhappily. Her tail slapped itself against the ground as soon as she was standing up again.

Cinderheart just stood there in the rain. Frustration swelled up inside of her, keeping her from doing anything else. This was the twentieth time she had finally found the border again when the Dark Forest changed just as she got close to it. Running after it hadn't helped any.

The Dark Forest insisted on keeping her trapped inside of it.

Alone.

The patterns of trees in the Dark Forest kept changing. The Dark Forest had become a maze with no exit. The maze kept changing, keeping Cinderheart from making any progress.

In addition to Cinderheart's frustration of losing the border over and over again, the cave she had learned to call safe haven no longer existed. The Dark Forest was getting smaller and smaller every time it changed. A different landmark disappeared each time. Before it disappeared, every change would transport her back to the cave. The first time it didn't she spent all of that time searching for it instead of the border, only to be disappointed as she realized it no longer existed.

Cinderheart no longer had a place where she could dry her paws for just a couple of minutes. Cinderheart closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself, but it failed. She opened them back up, feeling even more frustrated and angry than before.

Cinderheart turned her head to look at her surroundings. She had never been here before. Of course she hadn't, as the Dark Forest had never been like this before. However, something felt different to Cinderheart. Something was off. Something was always off, but it felt worse this time.

Cinderheart suddenly felt like she had a knot in her throat.

_Was this time it? Was this time the last time before..._

Cinderheart could bring herself to think it. She couldn't bring herself to think that that had been the last change before the Dark Forest finally gave out and died.

Cinderheart continued to look around her surroundings and realized one of the trees had a thicker trunk than the rest of them. Cinderheart ran up to the tree and realized there was a hole in the tree trunk. It was hollow. More importantly, it was big enough for a cat to fit in.

It was big enough for her to lay in.

Cinderheart didn't hesitate to jump into the tiny hollow of the tree. She laid down almost as soon as she landed and set her head down on her paws. She was about to close her eyes when she heard a strange sound.

Rain hitting water.

This wasn't the normal sound of rain that Cinderheart had grown used to. This was the sound of rain raining of water, almost as if raining on the lake back at the territories.

Cinderheart lifted her head to look out of the tree. What she saw caused her heart to skip a beat.

The Dark Forest was flooding.

* * *

**POV Change**

* * *

"Cinderheart?"

The tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat opened her eyes to find the white flash was gone, but so was Cinderheart. The Dark Forest had changed, moving Cinderheart far away from the border.

"Cinderheart..." the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat meowed aloud as she realized that Cinderheart was all alone in the Dark Forest now. She had no one to help her realize when the Dark Forest would almost be gone. Every change the Dark Forest got closer and closer to death, and she feared that Cinderheart wouldn't be ready when the Dark Forest finally gave way.

The tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat crouched down, ready to jump in and try to help her friend, but she stopped herself at the last second. She realized the Dark Forest was changing so much that she would never find Cinderheart. Cinderheart didn't have much time left, but there was nothing the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat could do to help her at the moment.

"Mapleshade?"

Mapleshade turned around. She widened her eyes when she realized who it was that had called her name.

"Bluestar? Thank StarClan you're here!" Mapleshade exclaimed. Her heart filled with hope. Surely the former ThunderClan leader would be able to help her help Cinderheart!

Bluestar, however, was nowhere near as happy to see her. "Why are you here?" she asked coldly.

"Cinderheart needs your help!" Mapleshade replied. "The Dark Forest is dying and she's trapped inside!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Cinderheart is down in the territories right now..."

"No she's not! That's Cinderpelt!" Mapleshade exclaimed. She paused. "Wait, you didn't know that?"

"We lost Cinderpelt during the war. We haven't been able to find her. We assumed she died during the war. Are you telling me that Cinderpelt is not gone?" Bluestar asked Mapleshade, taking a step closer to her. Mapleshade suddenly felt a little intimidated by the former ThunderClan leader.

"She's been in the Dark Forest," Mapleshade replied. "Just me and her. Well, until she swapped places with Cinderheart, that is..."

"How did Cinderpelt end up in the Dark Forest—wait, she swapped places with Cinderheart? What do you mean?" Bluestar exclaimed.

"Cinderpelt took Cinderheart out of her own body and stepped in. Cinderpelt is in Cinderheart's body down in the territories while Cinderheart is up here in the Dark Forest all alone as it is slowly dying with her in it," Mapleshade replied.

"The Dark Forest is dying?" Bluestar asked.

"I was the last warrior left in the Dark Forest. You closed the gate, not allowing any of the warriors to return to the Dark Forest. They all faded away instead because they were not allowed into StarClan, either. With only warrior inside, the Dark Forest did not have enough inhabitants to stay alive. It has been slowly changing itself on the inside and is dying. I fear that Cinderheart will be stuck inside, dying with it. Please, Bluestar, we have to do something!" Mapleshade suddenly begged after giving her long explanation. "Please, Bluestar, Cinderheart saved me by bringing me here to the border when I could not find it or even think of it. Now help me and let me save Cinderheart!"

"There is nothing we can do from here," Bluestar meowed sadly.

Mapleshade froze. "What do you mean there's nothing we can do?"

"I mean there's nothing we can do," Bluestar replied. "If what you say is true and Cinderpelt's afterlife is still alive, then Cinderheart has to bring Cinderpelt back to the Dark Forest. Then Cinderheart and Cinderpelt must cross the border from the Dark Forest to here together, at the exact same moment."

"How does Cinderheart summon Cinderpelt to bring her back to the Dark Forest?" Mapleshade asked.

"I don't know," Bluestar confessed in reply. Mapleshade suddenly began to feel hopeless.

"I do."

Mapleshade's hopelessness was shattered as she heard the voice. She turned to see Brackenfur.

"Brackenfur?" Mapleshade exclaimed. "Does Cinderheart know you're dead?"

"No, but that's not what is important right now," Brackenfur replied.

Mapleshade stared at him. "How does Cinderheart summon Cinderpelt back to the Dark Forest?" she asked slowly. "Can I help her?"

"You can help her, but there is a price you must pay," Brackenfur meowed.

"I'll do it," Mapleshade meowed immediately.

"But..."

"I don't care what the price is," Mapleshade meowed, cutting Brackenfur off. "I'll do it. I owe it to her. Please, Brackenfur, let me save your daughter!"

* * *

**POV Change**

* * *

Cinderheart could do nothing but watch as the water level slowly rose. The Dark Forest was flooding and there was nothing Cinderheart could do to save herself. She knew how to swim, but she couldn't swim forever. Besides, even if she did swim, and even if she did miraculously find the border again without the Dark Forest changing, she would never be able to cross the border. The invisible barrier still kept her from entering StarClan.

Cinderheart stood to her paws. The water began to lap at her paws. Cinderheart realized she only had a few minutes before the water covered the entire hollow of the tree.

"This is the end," Cinderheart realized aloud. "It's all over..."

"Not yet."

Cinderheart looked up and gasped.

"Mapleshade!" she exclaimed. Mapleshade was standing a couple of tail-lengths above her on a branch of the tree. Stars were plastered all over her fur.

Mapleshade was a member of StarClan now. Better than that, Mapleshade was here with her again.

Mapleshade was here to save her.

"Jump up here!" Mapleshade yowled at her across the sound of the rain and the flooding waters.

"I can't!" Cinderheart exclaimed. "I'll never make that jump!"

"Then climb up here!" Mapleshade exclaimed back. "You're ThunderClan! You can do it! I know you can!"

Cinderheart stared doubtfully at the branch Mapleshade stood on, but she realized she had no other choice. She lowered her gaze and realized she didn't even have to move her head to see the flooding waters. They were now half-way up her legs.

Cinderheart closed her eyes and jumped out of the hollow into the flooding water. She opened them and sighed in relief as she realized she wasn't sinking. She pushed her legs back and forth to keep herself afloat as she pushed herself back to the tree. This time she didn't go for the hollow; she went for the tree trunk itself. She unsheathed her claws and tried to grip onto the tree trunk. Her claws were slippery from the water, so they barely hung on. Cinderheart launched herself up the tree trunk and dug her claws into the bark. Her claws threatened to fall out. Knowing she only had a few moments before falling back into the water, Cinderheart turned her head and quickly locked onto her target. She wanted to have a moment of hesitation, but she couldn't. A moment of hesitation could cause her to lose her life. Without a moment of hesitation, Cinderheart pushed herself backwards off of the tree. As she threatened to fall back into the water, she dug her claws into the branch that Mapleshade stood on.

"Mapleshade, help!" Cinderheart cried when her claws started to slip out. Mapleshade quickly leaned down and grabbed her by the scruff. Mapleshade struggled to pull her up by herself, so Cinderheart helped by pulling herself up as Mapleshade pulled up. Mapleshade finally pulled Cinderheart up onto the tree just as her claws slipped out of the branch. Cinderheart sighed in relief and gasped for air at the same time as she balanced herself on the branch. She was just thankful to StarClan that she could stand up on all four of her paws again.

"We can't stay," Mapleshade meowed apologetically. "This branch is about to give way. Quick; follow me." Mapleshade turned around and leaped off of the branch onto the next branch up. Cinderheart quickly followed.

Cinderheart followed Mapleshade up the tree, branch after branch, until they were at the top of the tree. The flooding water was about ten fox-lengths down, barely a tail-length above the hollow of the tree.

Cinderheart looked back up to stare evenly at Mapleshade's gaze. "Now what?" she asked.

"Summon Cinderpelt," Mapleshade replied.

"What? How?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"Close your eyes. Pull her here."

Cinderheart closed her eyes. "Pull her here? How?"

"Sense her," Mapleshade replied. "You're her reincarnation; you need her to live, don't you? You want to live, so live! Find her with your heart, not your mind!" Mapleshade added.

Cinderheart suddenly snapped her eyes open. "Got her."

* * *

**Yep, I'm going to end the chapter here. Makes you a bit unhappy with the cliffhanger, doesn't it? Honestly, next chapter is probably going to seem a bit boring compared to this chapter, but we've got to see what Jayfeather has to say to Cinderpelt before bringing her to the Dark Forest, don't we?**

**Anyways, what do you think of Mapleshade's POV? She probably seems extremely OOC, but don't forget that she has changed now that she's free from the Dark Forest. We have Cinderheart to thank for that. Mapleshade is less OOC and more of a dynamic character. That's good, though. I wouldn't want her to be a flat characters. Flat characters are boring. I couldn't stand being able to write a story about a character who doesn't change. That would be extremely boring.**

**Wow, I sure love rambling on and on, don't I? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't expect an update tomorrow, but expect one soon!**

**~Icy**


	14. Chapter 13: Discontent

**Last time on our exciting episode we saw Cinderheart all alone in the Dark Forest until Mapleshade came and helped her out. Now we get to go back to Cinderpelt, who is about to have a nice and long chat with Jayfeather. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Discontent**

* * *

"I know you're Cinderpelt."

Cinderpelt froze.

"How?" was all she could muster.

"Well don't take it as such a big surprise," Jayfeather meowed. "You really shouldn't. After all, I knew that Cinderheart was your reincarnation long before she did. How did you expect me _not_ to know that it was you and not her?" Jayfeather added.

"Good point..." Cinderpelt muttered.

"So..."

"So...?"

"What are you doing here?" Jayfeather asked.

"I came to check on Lilypaw, who is supposed to be my apprentice," Cinderpelt replied calmly. "How is she?"

"She's going to be fine, but she needs to rest for a few days," Jayfeather replied.

"That's great news," Cinderpelt meowed.

They both sat there in awkward silence.

"What are you doing here?" Jayfeather repeated his question after a while, finally deciding to break the awkward silence.

"I just told you, I'm checking on..."

"What are you doing in ThunderClan?" Jayfeather asked.

"ThunderClan is my Clan," Cinderpelt replied.

"Why are you here? You're supposed to be in StarClan," Jayfeather meowed.

"You're right, I am, but I'm not," Cinderpelt agreed.

"Can you explain that for me a bit more?" Jayfeather asked.

"What, are you having a heard time getting into my memories?" Cinderpelt teased.

"Since you went so far as to ask, let me answer that with a yes. I can't access your memories at all," Jayfeather added. "You care to explain why that is?"

"My spirit is not in the correct body. Of course you can't access anything in it," Cinderpelt meowed.

"But I could access it before, when you were just part of Cinderheart's memories," Jayfeather insisted.

"It's different now," Cinderpelt meowed.

"How so?" Jayfeather asked.

"Cinderheart isn't here anymore," Cinderpelt replied.

"Then where is she?" Jayfeather asked.

"In the Dark Forest, I suppose," Cinderpelt meowed. "At least, that's where I left her last time I saw her."

"You _what_?" Jayfeather exclaimed.

"Hey, not so loudly!" Cinderpelt hissed softly.

"Sorry," Jayfeather meowed, lowering his voice, "but you have to admit that it's a strange thing to hear."

"I know, I know... That must be why Icecloud refused to believe it."

"You told Icecloud that Cinderheart was in the Dark Forest?"

"I told Icecloud that I'm not Cinderheart, that I'm Cinderpelt, but she wouldn't believe it. She convinced Lionblaze not to believe it, too," Cinderpelt added.

"Wait a minute... so are you still Lionblaze's mate? That's going to be kind of weird..." Jayfeather muttered.

"Oh, don't worry, Icecloud took care of that," Cinderpelt meowed sourly.

"Oh," Jayfeather meowed, wincing. "I'm sorry to hear that. It must be frustrating for you."

"Not really," Cinderpelt meowed. "For Cinderheart? Probably. But for me? I don't care. I'm glad that Icecloud and Lionblaze are finally out of my way."

"But what are you going to do now?" Jayfeather asked.

"What do you mean?" Cinderpelt asked.

"What are you going to do now? You're here in ThunderClan while Cinderheart is in the Dark Forest. What is Cinderheart even doing in the Dark Forest? Is there even anyone else there?" Jayfeather asked.

"Cinderheart is all alone," Cinderpelt meowed. "Well, Mapleshade is there, but I doubt Cinderheart will ever find her."

"Mapleshade?" Jayfeather asked.

"Mapleshade got back to the Dark Forest before the gates were closed," Cinderpelt meowed.

"So before StarClan closed the gates to the Dark Forest, when the Dark Forest gates were open, that means that the StarClan gates were closed... You weren't allowed into StarClan, were you?" Jayfeather asked.

"No," Cinderpelt replied coldly, "I wasn't."

"That must have been really frustrating for you," Jayfeather meowed.

"I had to go live in the Dark Forest. All alone. I tried making a friend out of Mapleshade, but she isn't exactly..."

"Friendly?" Jayfeather offered.

"Yeah," Cinderpelt replied. "She definitely isn't friendly. She doesn't get along with others very well. If Cinderheart actually found her and got along with her, then... well, let's just say that I'd be really impressed."

"So what is this all about?" Jayfeather asked.

"What is what all about?" Cinderpelt asked.

"How did you get here from the Dark Forest? Why is Cinderheart in the Dark Forest?" Jayfeather asked.

"Well, you see... that's a bit complicated," Cinderpelt replied.

"I've got time; explain it," Jayfeather demanded.

Cinderpelt sighed. "Fine, I'll explain it. I hate storytelling, though."

"Cinderpelt? The great medicine cat?" Jayfeather asked.

"The great medicine cat my tail," Cinderpelt replied. "I can't think of a sign that StarClan sent me that I read correctly."

"You were still able to help your Clanmates, weren't you? Plus, you mentored my... mentor," Jayfeather decided.

"Mentor and mother? Complicated much?" Cinderpelt asked.

"You get used to it," Jayfeather replied.

"Really?" Cinderpelt asked.

"Eventually..." Jayfeather muttered.

Cinderpelt purred in amusement. "Well, let me tell the boring story now. Basically, I switched places with Cinderheart. I figured out how to take her spirit out of her body and put mine in it. That allowed me to leave the Dark Forest. I didn't care how; I just wanted out of there. Cinderheart was the side effect of all of that. If there had been another way, then I would have done it, but I couldn't find another way. In order for me to leave the Dark Forest, Cinderheart had to stay in it."

"That must have been terrifying for Cinderheart," Jayfeather meowed.

"Probably," Cinderpelt agreed.

"So how is Cinderheart now?"

"No idea," Cinderpelt replied.

"You don't know?" Jayfeather asked.

"I can't see her anymore and she can't see me anymore. I wasn't even able to see her until the night I brought her into the Dark Forest. It was difficult adjusting at first, not knowing that Cinderheart had a new apprentice already. Seriously, though, Ivypool wasn't made a warrior that long ago! There are plenty of other warriors in the Clan who deserve apprentices! So why did Cinderheart get Lilypaw?" Cinderpelt added.

"I wish I knew," Jayfeather replied. "I think that Bramblestar wanted to see how Cinder_heart_ mentored Lilypaw, considering that you probably helped with mentoring Ivypool."

"Well how did that work out for him?" Cinderpelt retorted. "I've ended up mentoring Lilypaw, too."

"How have you managed to teach her fighting moves?" Jayfeather asked curiously.

"Well, now that all four of my legs work well, it's a lot easier. Remember, I was originally a warrior apprentice. All I wanted to be was a warrior. Besides, I was watching when Cinderheart was a warrior, remember? All of the training she received? I received it, too, just through her eyes and her paws," Cinderpelt added.

"Right then," Jayfeather meowed. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"I've answered plenty of your questions," Cinderpelt retorted.

"Now that you're here instead of the Dark Forest, what are you going to do?" Jayfeather asked.

Cinderpelt sat down. "See, that's what's been bothering me,"Cinderpelt admitted.

"Bothering you?" Jayfeather asked curiously.

"Well... I thought I was going to get revenge on everyone who caused me to end up in the Dark Forest, but I realized that wasn't going to work or happen, thanks to this thing I have called a conscience, so now I don't really know what to do," Cinderpelt admitted.

"How much longer do you plan on living Cinderheart's life?" Jayfeather asked.

"She can't live her life without me," Cinderpelt meowed. "She's been dying, Jayfeather. The night I brought her to the Dark Forest was the night she was supposed to die."

"Did she know this?" Jayfeather asked.

"I think Firestar told her," Cinderpelt admitted.

"So StarClan told her she was going to die soon before she died... just like they did to you?" Jayfeather realized aloud.

"Cinderheart has been trapped in my shadow her entire life," Cinderpelt meowed slowly.

"But she can't ever get out, can she? From under your shadow. The moment she does, her death is going to finish itself, isn't it?" Jayfeather asked.

"Probably so," Cinderpelt meowed.

"So what, are you just going to stay here to prolong her life?" Jayfeather asked. "That's more like you living... again...and again..."

"I'm miserable here, Jayfeather," Cinderpelt suddenly confessed. "Brackenfur is dead! All I want to do is say goodbye! Is that too much to ask for?"

"I didn't get to say goodbye to Hollyleaf," Jayfeather meowed. "Well, I did in StarClan, but..."

"I'll never get to go to StarClan!" Cinderpelt exclaimed. "All I want to do is go to StarClan where I belong, but I can't! I can't even figure out how to get back to the Dark Forest! I don't want to live here anymore, Jayfeather. I want to get out. I want to let Cinderheart back in. Jayfeather, can you please help me?" Cinderpelt suddenly begged.

"I'm sorry, Cinderpelt, but there's nothing I can do for you," Jayfeather meowed. "I may speak with StarClan more often than most medicine cats, but that doesn't mean I can get you there. If I can't access your memory, then I'm not going to be able to enter your dream or drag you into mine. I'm sorry, Cinderpelt, but you're on your own there."

"Jayfeather, what am I supposed to do?" Cinderpelt asked.

"I don't know," Jayfeather admitted honestly.

Cinderpelt opened her jaws to speak, but she suddenly found she was unable to make a sound. Her eyes suddenly started closing themselves against her will. The last thing Cinderpelt saw was the medicine cat den floor before everything went black.

Cinderpelt snapped her eyes open just moments later and found herself looking down at her paws. Her paws were dark gray instead of gray with tabby stripes.

But that wasn't what scared her the most.

The more terrifying and more important thing that had changed was where she was at. Beneath her dark gray paws was the bark of a tree branch, and below that was a slowly rising water level.

"What in the name of StarClan is going on?" Cinderpelt exclaimed.

"I thought you'd have figured that out by now."

* * *

**Next chapter is going to be pretty exciting! Cinderpelt and Cinderheart are finally going to meet up together again! Next chapter is the scene that I first had in mind when I came up with this story. Look forward to it!**

**~Icy**


	15. Chapter 14: Perspective

**It's the moment we've all been waiting for. At last, Cinderpelt and Cinderheart meet up again! I don't have much to say, plus I don't want to keep you waiting any longer, so let's get on with chapter fourteen!**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Perspective**

* * *

"_I thought you'd have figured that out by now."_

Cinderpelt heard the voice. She had heard it before, but she failed to recognize it. Slowly and carefully, making sure she didn't slip, she turned around to see where the voice had come from. She was surprised to see a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat easily balancing herself on a branch of the tree.

_Mapleshade?_

"Again, what in the name of StarClan is going on?" Cinderpelt exclaimed.

"That's what I'd like to know."

This voice was much more familiar to Cinderpelt. After all, it had been the voice she had heard for the past quarter moon. Whenever Cinderpelt had gone to speak to someone, this had been what her voice sounded like. This voice was almost the same as Cinderpelt's own voice, but it wasn't exactly the same. Cinderpelt turned her head to find the gray tabby she-cat she had expected to see. The gray tabby she-cat was balancing herself on a different branch, but it was the branch right next to Mapleshade's. Cinderpelt realized that she stood on a branch across from the two she-cats.

"Cinderheart," Cinderpelt meowed slowly.

"You stole my life," Cinderheart growled.

"Not now..." Mapleshade meowed to Cinderheart. "We need to focus on..."

"No, let's do this now," Cinderpelt meowed, cutting off Mapleshade. Cinderpelt kept her gaze on Cinderheart. "We may as well do this now."

"How could you do something like that?" Cinderheart hissed.

"I had no choice!" Cinderpelt hissed back.

"There's always a choice!" Cinderheart spat.

"No, there isn't. You should know that," Cinderpelt muttered.

"No, I shouldn't. You gave me a choice, remember? I've always had a choice. You gave me that choice and I chose to let you go. What happened after that, Cinderpelt? How did we go from sharing a life to stealing it from each other?" Cinderheart growled.

"And tearing it apart?" Cinderpelt put in.

"Exactly—wait, what did you do?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

Cinderpelt turned her head and looked away. She focused on the water that was rising beneath them. _I have to tell her that I ended her relationship with Lionblaze..._ At first she tried not to say anything, but the better part of her spoke for her.

"Icecloud won," Cinderpelt muttered. It was all she could say; it was the simplest thing she could say.

"I figured as much," Cinderheart scoffed in reply. "You know what? I honestly don't care about that anymore. What I do care about is that the Dark Forest is flooding and we're probably going to die in it. I'm not even dead yet! This is all your fault! Cinderpelt, it's your fault we're here!"

"No it's not," Cinderpelt whispered.

"Then whose is it?" Cinderheart exclaimed. "Explain it to me!" Cinderheart added when Cinderpelt tried her best not to answer.

"Yours!" Cinderpelt suddenly snapped.

Cinderheart froze. "What? H-how...?"

"You let me go," Cinderpelt growled, "too early. StarClan wasn't ready for me. They thought I'd stay and fight the war."

"So?" Cinderheart muttered.

"I arrived at the path to StarClan and it was closed," Cinderpelt replied.

"Closed? How?" Cinderheart asked.

"The same way no one came back to the Dark Forest," Mapleshade realized aloud.

"Only one gate can be closed at a time. StarClan's gate was closed at the beginning of the war while all of the Dark Forest warriors got out, and the Dark Forest gate was closed at the end as the StarClan warriors returned and trapped the Dark Warriors out of their home, leaving them to fade away," Cinderpelt meowed.

"So that means..."

"The Dark Forest was the only place I _could_ go to," Cinderpelt explained. "I couldn't stand at the path forever; I would have faded away. I didn't live my life and yours just to lose it all."

"But... why take my place?" Cinderheart asked.

"I realized that you were slowly dying and I decided to take advantage of it," Cinderpelt replied.

"But..."

"I was kept from where I belong! I was supposed to go to StarClan, but I couldn't! I was desparate! Can you really blame me for what I did?" Cinderpelt exclaimed.

"No..." Cinderheart whispered slowly and softly.

""Cinderheart? Are you okay?" Mapleshade asked.

"...I blame _me_ for it. For _all_ of it..." Cinderheart meowed slowly. She took a breath. "This is all my fault..."

Cinderpelt opened her jaws to say something, but whatever she was going to say was lost. Her words were replaced by the horror that struck her when she realized that the rising water had hit the bottoms of her paws.

"Um... catching up has been nice, but we need to do something. _Now_," Cinderpelt added.

"We go to the border," Cinderheart meowed.

"How? Isn't the Dark Forest changing as we speak?" Cinderpelt retorted.

"I'll lead you there," Mapleshade meowed.

"What?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"Wait a minute... are those stars in your fur?" Cinderpelt exclaimed.

"I'm part of StarClan now," Mapleshade replied as she nodded.

"Then why are you here?" Cinderpelt asked.

"To help a friend," Mapleshade replied, nodding to Cinderheart as she spoke.

"You two are friends now?" Cinderpelt asked disbelievingly.

"Unexpected but true," Cinderheart agreed with her.

* * *

**At the border...**

* * *

"Thank you for saving us from having to swim through that," Cinderpelt meowed to Mapleshade. Cinderpelt, Cinderheart, and Mapleshade were standing on a log. A tree had fallen and snapped in half, leaving the three she-cats something to stand on instead of having to swim through the flooding waters. Now the log was still as the three she-cats sat at the edge of the border between StarClan and the Dark Forest.

"No problem," Mapleshade replied to her, flicking her tail.

The three she-cats sat there in silence. They could hear more trees falling behind them.

The Dark Forest was almost at its end.

"Uh... go ahead; you go first," Cinderheart meowed, trying to break the silence.

"No, you go ahead," Cinderpelt insisted, shaking her head.

"No, you go at the same time," Mapleshade instructed them. "It won't work if you don't cross at the exact same moment."

"Well then," Cinderpelt muttered.

"I guess that's decided, then," Cinderheart purred in amusement.

Cinderpelt exchanged a glance with Cinderheart. The two she-cats nodded to each other. They both turned to look at the border and crouched down.

"On the count of three?" Cinderpelt asked.

"On the count of three," Cinderheart agreed.

The two she-cats braced themselves.

"One..." Cinderpelt began.

"Two..." Cinderheart continued.

"Three!" they shouted at the same time. They pushed their paws off the ground and leaped across the border, crossing it at the exact same moment. They both landed safely on the other side. They forced their paws to skid to a halt. The waters from the Dark Forest had made their paws slippery, causing them to slip on their landings. Cinderheart, who had been used to swimming while she had been alive, managed to skid to a halt without falling over.

Cinderpelt wasn't as lucky. She hadn't lived it; she had only watched it from inside.

Cinderpelt's paws slipped and she landed on her back. She rolled over and growled as she got to her paws.

"Nice landing," Cinderheart teased.

"Thanks," Cinderpelt muttered. "We can't all be perfect."

"So I've noticed," Cinderheart retorted.

The two she-cats exchanged a glance and both purred in amusement.

"We made it," Cinderheart meowed. Her blue eyes were shining with excitement.

"StarClan at least," Cinderpelt agreed. "This feels great!"

"Come on, Mapleshade! Join us!" Cinderheart exclaimed happily, wagging her tail back and forth like a kit.

Cinderpelt turned to follow Cinderheart's gaze, locking her eyes on Mapleshade. Mapleshade was unable to share their happiness.

Mapleshade stood still. She didn't say anything, leaving Cinderheart's meow unanswered.

_It was a simple thing to say_, Cinderpelt thought. _Why can't you just come over and join us? You're already a member of StarClan._

"Mapleshade...?" Cinderheart meowed.

Mapleshade's gaze was fixated on her paws.

"Mapleshade, what's wrong?" Cinderheart asked worriedly.

Mapleshade looked up. The light in her eyes reflected her sadness.

"I can't join you."

* * *

**Cinderheart and Cinderpelt are both finally in StarClan! Happy ending time, right? Well, I think you've forgotten this is a story by Icethroat21. There is no such thing as a happy ending. At least, not without consequences. The ending can't entirely be happy...**

**...which brings us to our next chapter, titled "Consequences" for that exact reason. Look forward to it!**

**~Icy**


	16. Chapter 15: Consequences

**Second to last chapter before the epilogue. Brace yourself for it. It's probably going to make you really sad.**

**You've been warned.**

**Alright, alright, enough of that. Let's get on with the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Consequences**

* * *

"_I can't join you."_

"What? Why not?" Cinderheart exclaimed. She stared at Mapleshade as if she had just lost her tail.

_No! Not after all we've been through! You can't just say something like that!_

"This is the price I pay," Mapleshade replied softly. She closed her eyes.

"Price you pay for what?" Cinderheart cried.

"Coming back to save you," Mapleshade whispered.

* * *

**Flashback and POV Change**

* * *

"_I'll do it," Mapleshade meowed immediately._

"_But..."_

"_I don't care what the price is," Mapleshade meowed, cutting Brackenfur off. "I'll do it. I owe it to her. Please, Brackenfur, let me save your daughter!"_

"You can't come back," Brackenfur meowed softly.

"What?" Mapleshade exclaimed.

"You've already crossed the border once. If you cross it again, then you won't be able to come back," Brackenfur continued.

"Why not?" Mapleshade asked.

"With the way the Dark Forest is changing, it will trap you in there. You said so yourself that the Dark Forest had trapped Cinderheart. If you go in there and save her, then you will have to stay behind. The barrier which traps Cinderheart will change and trap you instead," Brackenfur explained.

"But..."

"If you cross the border again, you won't be able to come back," Brackenfur repeated. "You'll lose your afterlife in there, Mapleshade. If you save Cinderheart then you will die. Again."

Mapleshade closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll do it. Tell me what I have to do."

* * *

**End Flashback and POV Change**

* * *

"I was given a second chance. I gave it up to come save you," Mapleshade explained.

"So now what?" Cinderheart cried.

"I die along with the Dark Forest," Mapleshade replied. "Well, I lose my afterlife when the Dark Forest dies."

"No!" Cinderheart shrieked. "There has to be some other way!"

"There isn't. Brackenfur warned me, but I promised him I'd do it, no matter what the consequences," Mapleshade meowed.

"Wait, Brackenfur is dead?" Cinderheart asked. She turned and glared at Cinderpelt.

"A branch fell," Cinderpelt explained quickly. "Kill him and Briarlight."

"You could have mentioned it," Cinderheart retorted.

"Sorry," Cinderpelt muttered.

Cinderheart turned her attention back to Mapleshade.

"I promised him I'd do it, no matter what the consequences," Mapleshade repeated, "and you know what? Now that I'm sitting here, waiting for the Dark Forest to change and waiting for my death, I'd still make the same decision. Even though I'm going to fade away soon, I would still make the same decision to come back and save you."

"Mapleshade, we've just become friends! How can you expect me to say goodbye so soon?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"I don't, so I'll do it for you," Mapleshade replied softly.

"Mapleshade..." Cinderheart began to whimper.

"I thought I was going to fade away as an old, crotchety she-cat who would never work with anyone. In the face of death, you were able to change that. That's right, Cinderheart, you saved me," Mapleshade added.

"No I didn't... You're still going to fade away!" Cinderheart cried.

"But with stars in my fur! Cinderheart, I never thought I'd get to have stars in my fur. Getting to leave the darkness, even if just for a few minutes... _That_ is the best thing a cat could ever do for me, and that is what you did."

"Mapleshade..." Cinderheart whimpered.

Mapleshade cast a quick glance behind her before speaking again. Mapleshade turned back to Cinderheart.

"Well, time's up," Mapleshade meowed.

"No!" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"Thank you so much for my second chance," Mapleshade meowed softly.

"Goodbye, Mapleshade," Cinderheart whispered.

"Goodbye, Cinderheart," Mapleshade whispered back.

Cinderheart was suddenly blinded by a white flash. Cinderheart closed her eyes to try and block out the painful bright light.

Cinderheart opened them only a brief moment later and found that the Dark Forest was gone. The border was gone, too. All Cinderheart could see were more stars and grasslands, signaling that StarClan territory grown and replaced the empty part of the sky which had been left behind by the Dark Forest's death.

"She's gone... Cinderpelt, she's gone..." Cinderheart whispered. She suddenly fell to her paws and stared at the ground. "I can't believe she's gone just like that..."

"Cinderheart, we need to talk about something else," Cinderpelt suddenly meowed. From the sound of her voice, Cinderheart could tell that Cinderpelt didn't want to mention whatever she was mentioning at the current moment, but she didn't have any choice.

"What could possibly be more important that losing a good friend?" Cinderheart growled.

"Your body must be getting cold without a soul in it," Cinderpelt meowed warily.

Cinderheart shakily got to her paws and turned to face Cinderpelt.

"Am I... dead?" Cinderheart stammered her question.

"You could try going back, but I don't think it would stick for very long. You'd maybe have a day," Cinderpelt replied.

"What am I supposed to do with such a short amount of time?" Cinderheart asked softly.

"Make your goodbyes. Make amends with Lionblaze. Oh, and um... make sure you thank Jayfeather for saving our lives multiple times. And say goodbye to Leafpool for me," Cinderpelt added.

"Why can't you say goodbye to Leafpool yourself?" Cinderheart snapped. "Just visit her in a dream or something."

"I've made enough of a mess as it is; I don't want to interfere anymore," Cinderpelt replied.

"Right then..." Cinderheart trailed off.

"Cinderheart, I'm sorry..." Cinderpelt began, but Cinderheart cut her off.

"No, don't," Cinderheart meowed. "It's thanks to you that I'm not already dead. I was supposed to die the night you took my place. I'm not mad at you. As a matter of fact, I should be thanking you for giving me the chance to say goodbye to everyone that I love," Cinderheart added.

Cinderpelt sighed in relief but didn't say anything.

"I guess I'll see you later then?" Cinderheart asked.

"I guess so," Cinderpelt replied, nodding.

Cinderheart closed her eyes. _It's time for me to say goodbye._

* * *

**POV Change**

* * *

Cinderpelt watched as Cinderheart faded away.

_It's going to be hard for her, getting back to her Clanmates after what has been a short time for them and a very long time for her... only to have to say goodbye and then leave them again..._

"Hello, Cinderpelt."

Cinderpelt turned around. She let out a purr as she recognized the golden-brown tabby pelt of her brother.

"Hello, Brackenfur," she meowed.

"We finally get to say goodbye," Brackenfur meowed. "We've been separated for long enough."

"You know what I have to do, though..." Cinderpelt began. She was about to continue, but her brother cut her off.

"I know, I know. Can we at least spend a few minutes together before you go, though?" Brackenfur asked.

"Of course," Cinderpelt replied, purring in amusement. "A few minutes won't make a difference. It's nice to see you again, brother..."

* * *

**Well, that's the last we get to see of Cinderpelt's POV. Kind of sad, isn't it? It's hard to believe this story is almost over.**

**So Mapleshade is gone, but Cinderpelt is in StarClan and Cinderheart gets a chance to say goodbye. Is there going to be a happy ending for both Cinderpelt and Cinderheart after all? But wait, if this is the last of Cinderpelt's POV, then what on earth is it that Cinderpelt was about to tell Brackenfur she had to do? Well, you'll have to wait until next chapter to find out.**

**If you found Mapleshade's goodbye and afterlife-death to be heartbreaking, then you'd better go out and get yourself a box of tissues or something for next chapter. Just a suggestion.**

**Next chapter is the last chapter before the epilogue. It's taken eight months to write this story. Now, if I had updated more than a chapter per month for the first four or five of those months, then it probably wouldn't be so much, but eh, that's the way it goes. The frequency of updates definitely improved for the second half of the story, though.**

**Well, that's all I have to say for now. "That's all I have to say about that." Even though this chapter was very sad, along with most of the story for that matter, I hope you've still enjoyed it. Look forward to next chapter!**

**~Icy**


	17. Chapter 16: Goodbye

**The last chapter of Zero Two! I thought I'd have a lot more to say, but I really don't. More will probably come to my mind at the end of the chapter. For now, I guess we'll just go ahead and get on with the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Goodbye**

* * *

"Wait, so the cat talking to us before... it really _was_ Cinderpelt?" Icecloud asked.

"Yes," Cinderheart replied. Cinderheart licked her paw and brought it over her ear as she gave Icecloud and Lionblaze time to process everything she had just told them. Cinderheart had brought Icecloud and Lionblaze out into the forest alone so that she could explain what had happened between her and Cinderpelt. Once Lionblaze had convinced Icecloud to stop throwing retorts at her left and right, explaining things had been much easier. Cinderheart had apologized to Lionblaze for pushing him away, but he had responded with kindness and compassion.

Lionblaze had easily forgiven her, and that was all that mattered to her.

In return, Cinderheart had kindly acknowledged Icecloud and Lionblaze as mates. Lionblaze had tried to tell her that if he had known what was really going on then he wouldn't have left her, but Cinderheart told him not to worry about it. It hadn't been easy, but Cinderheart had explained how she didn't have much time left and that she would by dead by moonrise. It was currently sunhigh.

"Cinderheart, I have an apology to make," Icecloud meowed sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, Icecoud," Cinderheart meowed. "I am totally fine with the fact that you and Lionblaze are mates. As a matter of fact, I am glad that Lionblaze will not be alone when I die."

"No, it's not just that..." Icecloud trailed off.

"Then what is it?" Cinderheart asked kindly.

"I haven't even told Lionblaze this... I was going to tell him today, but I think it's important for you to know, too, so I'll just go ahead and tell both of you at the same time..." Icecloud trailed off again. "Great StarClan, this is so awkward..."

"Icecloud, what is it?" Lionblaze asked.

"I'm expecting your kits," Icecloud replied to him.

"Really? That's great!" Lionblaze exclaimed. "I'm going to be a father!" he meowed excitedly.

"Congratulations," Cinderheart meowed. She purred. She admitted her sadness and disappoint to herself, that she was never going to get to have kits, but she pushed it down. She was lucky enough to get to say goodbye. She was lucky enough to have spent all of the time with Lionblaze that she had spent. If it weren't for being Cinderpelt's reincarnation, Cinderheart wouldn't have ever lived in the first place.

"Cinderheart, you aren't... mad or anything?" Icecloud asked sheepishly.

"Nope," Cinderheart replied.

"Not at all? Really?" Lionblaze asked.

"Not at all," Cinderheart promised. "I have nothing but kindness and compassion to give, Lionblaze. I am happy for you. As your former mate, I am happy to know that you are going to have kits. You are going to be a wonderful father, Lionblaze."

"Thank you," Lionblaze meowed.

"You too, Icecloud. You're going to be a wonderful mother," Cinderheart added.

"Really? I never thought I'd hear you say that," Icecloud meowed.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Cinderheart teased her.

* * *

**Later...**

* * *

"Are you feeling better?" Cinderheart asked.

"Much!" Lilypaw replied. "That catmint really helped! Jayfeather sure knows what he's doing!"

"That he does," Cinderheart agreed. "Did you know that one time he helped me mend a broken leg? He even taught me how to swim so that I could exercise it without hurting it!"

"Really?" Lilypaw exclaimed. "I didn't know you could swim!"

"She's actually really good at it," Poppyfrost meowed.

"Hey, did you hear yet? Icecloud and Lionblaze announced earlier that Icecloud is expecting kits!" Seedpaw exclaimed excitedly, changing the subject.

"Yes, we know," Poppyfrost muttered.

"Seedpaw!" Lilypaw hissed, jabbing her sister in the side with her paw.

"Hey! What was that for?" Seedpaw exclaimed.

"You do know that Cinderheart was Lionblaze's mate before Icecloud was, don't you?" Lilypaw asked.

"No! I didn't!" Seedpaw exclaimed. "Cinderheart, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

"Don't worry about it," Cinderheart meowed, purring in amusement. "Don't worry about it at all. That goes for you, too, Poppyfrost," she added.

"Seriously? I'm your sister, Cinderheart. How am I supposed to not worry about it?" Poppyfrost asked.

"Come on, why don't we leave Cinderheart alone and get to training already?" Lilypaw suggested, trying to change the subject.

"Lilypaw, that's sweet of you, but we're not training today," Cinderheart meowed.

"What?" Lilypaw exclaimed. "But I'm all better now!"

"If we aren't training then what _are_ are doing here in the training hollow?" Seedpaw asked.

"That's what I'd like to know, too," Poppyfrost retorted.

"I brought you here to tell you something," Cinderheart replied. "It's actually a long story..."

* * *

**Later...**

* * *

"Lilypaw, hold still!" Jayfeather snapped.

"Sorry," Lilypaw muttered. Jayfeather and Leafpool had asked for Lilypaw to come by the medicine cat den for a checkup after being outside of camp for a day. Cinderheart purred in amusement as Lilypaw kept squirming. According to Jayfeather, she had already spent a few days in the medicine cat den with whitecough, which had turned into greencough. Now that Lilypaw had been out of camp again, she was clearly eager to get out of the medicine cat den once more.

"Are you afraid you're going to get trapped in here again or something?" Cinderheart teased her apprentice.

"No..." Lilypaw muttered. "I just want to get out of this den. I want to train with you once more!"

"Once more?" Leafpool asked.

"I can't believe today is the last day I'll ever see you! I wish we could have more time together!" Lilypaw exclaimed.

"I do, too, Lilypaw," Cinderheart admitted. "I'm sorry that Cinderpelt did most of the mentoring. I was really looking forward to training my second apprentice."

"I know, right? Your first apprentice, Ivypool, was a spying on the Dark Forest for us during the war! I was looking forward to doing something exciting!" Lilypaw meowed.

"You can still do something exciting once you become a warrior," Cinderheart reminded her.

"Yeah, but you won't be here to see it," Lilypaw whined.

"I'll be watching you from StarClan," Cinderheart promised her. "I'll cheer your name as loud as possible. Maybe you'll even hear me."

"I sure hope so!" Lilypaw exclaimed excitedly.

"Alright, you're all done," Jayfeather muttered.

"Really?" Lilypaw asked.

"You're good to go," Leafpool replied.

"Yay!" Lilypaw exclaimed. "Come on, Cinderheart! Let's go training!"

"Sorry, Lilypaw, but I need to talk to Leafpool and Jayfeather," Cinderheart meowed. "I promised Cinderpelt I would."

"Okay..." Lilypaw meowed. "I'll be out in the clearing! Come find me as soon you're done!"

"I still have to talk to Bramblestar," Cinderheart reminded her. "It's almost sunset. I don't know if I have time to go out training with you or not."

"Will you at least share a piece of fresh-kill with me, then?" Lilypaw asked, obviously trying her best not to whimper.

"Of course," Cinderheart replied. "It'd be my pleasure."

"Yay!" Lilypaw exclaimed. "I'll be waiting for you!" Lilypaw briefly dipped her head in farewell to Leafpool and Jayfeather before turning around and bursting out of the den.

Cinderheart turned her attention to Leafpool and Jayfeather.

"You want to tell me what this is all about?" Leafpool asked.

"I already did," Jayfeather muttered. "Remember? Cinderpelt taking Cinderheart's place?"

"Yeah, you told me," Leafpool meowed.

"Well, Cinderheart is back now," Jayfeather explained.

"Really?" Leafpool exclaimed.

"Jayfeather, you sure do take all the fun out of me getting to tell the story over and over again," Cinderheart meowed sarcastically.

"I thought I was saving you from the trouble of having to tell it over and over again," Jayfeather meowed.

"Oh, no, you were. I was being sarcastic," Cinderheart meowed.

"What..."

"You've been so sarcastic your whole life, Jayfeather; it's about time someone gave you a taste of your own medicine," Cinderheart added.

Leafpool purred in amusement.

"Oh... great. That's just wonderful," Jayfeather muttered.

Cinderheart purred in amusement.

"Yeah, Cinderheart is definitely back," Leafpool meowed.

Cinderheart turned to Leafpool. "Oh yeah, Cinderpelt told me to say goodbye to you for her."

"Why couldn't she do it herself?" Leafpool asked.

"There was something about making a mess and not wanting to interfere anymore... or something along those lines... I don't know. Cinderpelt could be... well..."

"Cinderpelt?" Leafpool suggested.

"Yeah," Cinderheart replied. "That's a good way of putting it. Cinderpelt could be Cinderpelt."

"Alright, Cinderheart, stop wasting your time in here with us. Get out there and enjoy the last bit of your life!" Jayfeather ordered her.

Cinderheart purred in amusement. "Fine, fine..."

* * *

**Later...**

* * *

"So you're telling me that, for the past quarter moon, Cinderpelt has been living inside your body?" Bramblestar asked.

"Yes," Cinderheart replied.

"And you're going to die in a couple hours?" Bramblestar added.

"Sometime by moonhigh," Cinderheart replied. "I don't know when, exactly. Cinderpelt just told me that I would know when it was almost time. She said I would feel it."

"Okay, then... that's Cinderpelt, cryptic as always..." Bramblestar muttered.

Cinderheart purred in amusement. "Cinderpelt certainly does have a way with words."

"Bramblestar! Bramblestar! Bramblestar!" Cinderheart barely had time to jump out of the way as Squirelflight burst into the leader's den.

"Yes, Squirrelflight?" Bramblestar asked his mate.

"You'll never believe what's happened!" Squirrelflight exclaimed. "It's a miracle! It's a StarClan miracle!"

"Well don't let the suspense kill us; what is it?" Bramblestar retorted.

"You have to come out and see for yourself," Squirrelflight replied. She turned around and burst out of the den before neither Bramblestar nor Cinderheart could say anything. Bramblestar and Cinderheart exchanged a quickly glance before following the ginger queen out of the den.

"Echokit just spoke! Did you hear her?" Lilypaw asked Cinderheart excitedly, greeting her at the bottom of the den entrance.

"Echokit? The mute kit?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"Echokit spoke?" Bramblestar exclaimed. "My mute daughter can speak? Where is she?"

"Right here!" Squirrelflight called her mate over. Cinderheart, Lilypaw, and Bramblestar rushed over.

"Squirrelflight? Mommy? Squirrelflight is mommy?" a young brown-and-white she-kit that Cinderheart didn't recognize was squeaking.

"Echokit!" Bramblestar exclaimed. "You're not mute anymore!"

"That's not all!" Lionblaze meowed, running up to them. "Jayfeather, come here!"

Cinderheart turned to see Jayfeather and Leafpool run up to them.

"What's happening?" Cinderheart asked.

"I can see!" Jayfeather replied. "I can see outside of a dream! This is great!"

"Isn't this great?" Leafpool exclaimed. "It's a StarClan miracle!"

"Someone in StarClan must have sacrificed themselves or something," Bramblestar retorted.

Cinderheart widened her eyes. _Cinderpelt,_ she realized.

"Cinderheart, what's wrong?" Lionblaze asked, noticing her widened eyes.

"Can I talk to you outside of camp?" Cinderheart asked.

"Sure," Lionblaze replied.

* * *

**Outside of Camp...**

* * *

"My time is almost out," Cinderheart meowed.

"How do you know?" Lionblaze asked.

"I can feel it," Cinderheart replied.

"How will you know when you're dying?" Lionblaze asked.

"I don't know," Cinderheart admitted.

"Cinderheart."

Cinderheart jerked her head at the soft voice. She hadn't this voice in a long time.

"Honeyfern!" she exclaimed.

"Honeyfern?" Lionblaze asked. "What are you doing here?"

"You can see her?" Cinderheart exclaimed. "I thought that only..."

"I'm one of the Three," Lionblaze reminded her.

"Oh yeah, good point," Cinderheart muttered.

"Cinderheart, are you ready?" Honeyfern asked her gently.

"You know, I thought that I'd be panicking about not wanting to leave yet, but honestly? I think I'm ready," Cinderheart replied. Cinderheart got to her paws. She briefly wondered how she was getting to her paws when she was already standing up. She turned and realized that she was leaving her body.

"Am I dead?" she asked.

"Yes," Honeyfern replied.

"I didn't even notice my death," Cinderheart commented.

"It was painless," Honeyfern promised her.

Cinderheart turned to Lionblaze. She ran and briefly touched noses with him.

"Goodbye, Cinderheart," Lionblaze meowed.

"Goodbye, Lionblaze," Cinderheart replied. "I love you."

Cinderheart forced herself to pull away and turn around from the golden tabby tom that she loved as she followed her sister to StarClan.

* * *

**Later in StarClan...**

* * *

"Cinderpelt? Cinderpelt!" Cinderheart cried out. "Cinderpelt, where are you?"

"She's not here."

Cinderheart whipped around.

"Brackenfur!" she exclaimed. She hadn't seen her father since Cinderpelt had swapped places with her.

"Hello, Cinderheart," Brackenfur meowed to her.

"Where is she?" Cinderheart asked.

"Gone," Brackenfur replied.

"Where?" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"She sacrificed herself," Brackenfur meowed slowly.

"But I wanted to spend time with her..." Cinderheart meowed slowly and softly.

"_You've spent your entire life as my shadow. Don't spend your afterlife that way, too._ That's what Cinderpelt told me to tell you," Brackenfur added.

Cinderheart fell to her paws. "All I know is that I've never been able to live without her. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Remind yourself that you're not alive anymore. You have to get over your death before you can move on," Brackenfur meowed.

Cinderheart sighed.

"Cinderheart, don't forget that I'm here for you. Honeyfern and Molepaw are here, too. For that matter, Hollyleaf is here, too."

"I know..." Cinderheart meowed, sighing again. "It's just... I guess I just need a little time..."

"You've got plenty of that here," Brackenfur meowed. "Take it easy, Cinderheart, and don't forget that we're here for you. You've spent a long time being alone in the Dark Forest, I know, but you're not alone anymore. Remember that."

* * *

**Later...**

* * *

"Where do I go from here?" Cinderheart asked her best friend.

"Life isn't fair. You know that. I know that. Your life is over, so how about enjoying your afterlife?" Hollyleaf suggested.

Cinderheart sat still for a moment, pondering over what her best friend had just said. She and Hollyleaf were alone in the thick forests of StarClan. Cinderheart was still getting to know the territory; it felt like it went on forever.

"You know, it's been really boring without you," Cinderheart realized out loud. "I thought about you all the time," she added.

"Then let me make up for the lost time," Hollyleaf meowed. There was almost a tease in her voice. "Come on! Fallen Leaves found a good place to hunt where no one else ever hunts!" Hollyleaf added.

"Ooh! Sounds exciting! Count me in!" Cinderheart exclaimed in reply.

Hollyleaf turned around and burst into a run. Cinderheart quickly followed her best friend in pursuit.

_Alright, Hollyleaf... enlighten me. Show me how to enjoy my afterlife._

* * *

**And that's the end.**

**(Insert cricket noises.)**

**Well, random boring Wii Fit minigames aside, the last chapter of Zero Two is over! All we have left is the epilogue! **

**It may have been hard to see, but Cinderheart following Hollyleaf to go off and enjoy a good hunt was Cinderheart's way of beginning to get over her death. She's actually got (kind of) a happy ending. I'm proud of myself. Mapleshade lost her afterlife getting Cinderheart out of the Dark Forest and Cinderpelt gave up her afterlife to let Echokit speak and Jayfeather see, but Cinderheart gets to enjoy her afterlife with the rest of her family and friends. Meanwhile, her former-ish mate Lionblaze gets to be the father he always wanted to be. It's somewhat of a happy ending, isn't it?**

**I digress.**

**Anyways, is there going to be a sequel? No, there is not. I'm not even sure what a sequel to this story would be about. As of right now, I have no plans at all to make a sequel. I am going to finish A Blazing Blue Destruction and then I am going to start one of two stories that I've wanted to start for a long time. I haven't decided which one yet... I might start both. I don't know yet, but that isn't going to be for a while yet. Not until I finish ABBD.**

**Anyways, next up is the epilogue. Are you ready for the end of Zero Two? See you next time!**

**~Icy**


	18. Epilogue

**Well, this is it. The end of Zero Two. The epilogue. It feels strange, but it feels nice at the strange time. This is the second story that I have finished from start to finish. I'm kind of proud of myself for it, actually.**

**I hope nobody is disappointed by the ending. I know that a lot of readers were kind of disappointed by the ending of Running Up That Hill, but I feel like the ending for this story fits pretty well. Honestly, Cinderpelt's and Cinderheart's parts to play in this story are over, so now it's just time to end the story. It's actually going to be a sweet, happy epilogue.**

**Well, without further ado, I'll let you get to it.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," a ginger tabby tom meowed.

"I do," a ginger-and-brown she-cat meowed.

"I do," a brown-and-white tabby she-cat meowed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior names in return. Emberpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Emberstripe. StarClan honors you for your strength and bravery. Pyrepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Pyrefoot. StarClan honors you for your courage and thoughtfulness. Echopaw, from this moment on you will be known as Echoheart. StarClan honors you for your loyalty and determination."

"Emberstripe! Pyrefoot! Echoheart! Emberstripe! Pyrefoot! Echoheart!"

Cats started crowding around the three newly named warriors, congratulating them on moving up from apprentices to warriors. Of course everyone would be congratulating them; they were the leader's kits.

"Squirrelflight, you must be very proud of your kits."

The white she-cat turned her head. A dark ginger she-cat was talking to her golden tabby mate.

"For real this time," the golden tabby tom added.

"I am very proud of them, Lionblaze. Don't forget, I'm still very proud of you. Even though you aren't my son anymore, you are still my niece, and even if we weren't related, I would still be proud of you," Squirrelflight added.

"Even though Leafpool gave birth to me, you know that you are my real mother, Squirrelflight," Lionblaze meowed.

Squirrelflight opened her jaws to say something, but Lionblaze stopped her.

"Enough of this, Squirrelflight. Why don't you go and congratulate our Clan's newest warriors? The kits you gave birth to? I've been around for much longer than they have; they deserve your attention," Lionblaze meowed. He turned to walk away, but this time Squirrelflight stopped him.

"Lionblaze?"

Lionblaze turned around.

"Yes, Squirrelflight?" he asked.

"I'm proud of _all_ of my kits. Emberstripe, Pyrefoot, Echoheart, Jayfeather, you... and even Hollyleaf," Squirrelflight added. "Never forget that, Lionblaze."

Lionblaze sighed. "I never do."

_Alright, it's time for me to go in there and save him_, the white she-cat thought. She padded up to stand next to her golden tabby mate.

"It'll be our turn, next," she meowed.

"Hey, Icecloud," Lionblaze meowed.

"She's right, you know," Squirrelflight meowed to her niece. "Next time it'll be your turn."

"I'm sure our kits will be great warriors," Lionblaze agreed. He turned to face Icecloud. "Won't they be?"

"Of course they will be," Icecloud meowed. "We named our kits after two of the best warriors we've ever known; our kits are going to have the same success as their namesakes. Besides," Icecloud added, "they're our kits."

"She's got a point, Lionblaze," Squirrelflight meowed. "Kits of one of the Three. I wonder if they have any of your powers."

"Of course they do," Lionblaze meowed. "They both enjoy battle training the best."

"Only because they're really good at thinking," Icecloud put in. "They always enjoy a challenge."

"Don't they, though?" Lionblaze purred in amusement. "Even as kits, they'd always think about something before doing it. If they got caught trying to get out of camp, they'd come up with a reason for leaving that no warrior could disagree with. They got a lot of exceptions as kits, but not because they're my kits, it was always because they had a way with words that no one could argue with!"

"I'll be excited to see what they do as warriors," Icecloud agreed. "Besides, they have excellent mentors."

"Lilypetal desperately wanted to mentor Cinderpaw," Lionblaze meowed reminiscently.

"I'm really glad she got to mentor her. Lilypetal made sure that Cinderpaw would learn everything there was that she could teach her," Icecloud meowed.

"I'm glad you're pleased with the mentor choices," Squirrelflight meowed. "I may or may not have put in some suggestions."

"Hollypaw loves having Ivypool as her mentor," Lionblaze meowed.

"I'm sure she does," Squirrelflight meowed. "Every kit wanted Ivypool to be their mentor, but Ivypool insisted on mentoring one of your kits."

"Squirrelflight!"

Icecloud twitched her ear at the sound of Bramblestar's voice.

"Well, that's my call," Squirrelflight meowed. "See you later."

"See you," Icecloud meowed as Squirrelflight walked away from them.

"I feel sorry for her. That's a really big crowd," Lionblaze retorted.

"It'll be our turn next," Icecloud meowed.

"That's kind of scary," Lionblaze meowed.

"We've dealt with much worse," Icecloud reminded him.

"True," Lionblaze muttered.

"Do you miss being deputy?" Icecloud asked curiously.

"A bit," Lionblaze replied honestly, "but it's Squirrelflight's position. I was just filling in while she took care of her kits, who have turned into three great warriors."

"Our kits will be great warriors, too," Icecloud reminded him.

"Where are Cinderpaw and Hollypaw, anyway?" Lionblaze asked.

"Congratulating our three newest warriors," Icecloud replied.

"Hmm," Lionblaze muttered. "We'll leave them to it."

"I guess so," Icecloud agreed.

* * *

Icecloud blinked. Two moons had passed by since Bramblestar's kits had become warriors. Now it was her turn to be the parent of the Clan's newest warriors.

"Do you promise to uphold and protect the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?" Bramblestar asked.

"I do," Cinderpaw meowed.

"I do," Hollypaw meowed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior names in return. Cinderpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Cinderblaze. StarClan honors you for your bravery and determination. Hollypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Hollythorn. StarClan honors you for your loyalty and thoughtfulness."

"Cinderblaze! Hollythorn! Cinderblaze! Hollythorn!"

Icecloud ran up to be the first one to greet her kits.

"Congratulations!" she meowed excitedly.

"Thanks," Cinderblaze meowed.

"We couldn't have done it without you," Hollythorn meowed.

"Of course not," Cinderblaze agreed. "You're the best mother ever!"

Icecloud purred in amusement. "Thanks."

"And Lionblaze is the best father ever!" Hollythorn meowed.

"Absolutely!" Cinderblaze agreed.

"That means a lot to me," Lionblaze meowed. "You know that I'm very proud of you both. You're going to be the best warriors ThunderClan has ever seen. I know you are."

"Second-best," Hollythorn corrected him.

"After you, of course," Cinderblaze meowed.

Icecloud purred in amusement. "You are one of the Three," she reminded her mate.

"Oh, enough of that," Lionblaze meowed. "When is everyone going to let that go?" he muttered.

"Never," Icecloud teased him.

"Hey!" Lionblaze exclaimed.

Cinderblaze and Hollythorn purred in amusement.

"Hey! How about letting someone else through to congratulate the newest warriors?" Dovewing teased as she padded up to greet them.

"Hello, Dovewing," Lionblaze meowed.

"Congratulations, Cinderblaze and Hollythorn!" Dovewing exclaimed.

"Thanks!" the two sisters replied.

"Of course, you know I'm proud of you," Ivypool meowed. "I had to see you all day, every day, for the past six moons. You'd know if I wasn't proud."

"Ivypool, be nice!" Dovewing meowed.

"They know I"m just teasing," Ivypool meowed, purring in amusement.

More and more cats came over to congratulate the newest warriors of ThunderClan. Icecloud and Lionblaze stayed close at first, but eventually they stepped back to let the crowd settle in.

Icecloud watched as her kits were greeted warmly by the Clan. This was a feeling that Icecloud vowed to never forget.

Icecloud looked up at the sky.

_I know that I wouldn't have this opportunity if it weren't for you, so thank you,_ she couldn't help but think. She looked back down at her kits. They were basking in the moonlight. Their vigil would begin soon.

_I know that I'm only his second choice, but I'm okay with that. Being able to be his mate, and being able to be the mother of two warriors... that's plenty enough for me. I've never forgotten you, though, not for one moment. Since you're not here anymore, I'll take care of everyone for you, I promise. I'll take care of Cinderblaze and Hollythorn... Poppyfrost... Lilypetal... Jayfeather and Lionblaze... I promise to take care of everyone for you, so..._

"You want to eat something before we go to sleep?" Lionblaze asked kindly, nudging her with one paw.

"Sure," Icecloud replied, "although I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep. I think I'm as excited as Cinderblaze and Hollythorn are, if not more!"

"I feel the same way," Lionblaze admitted.

Icecloud and Lionblaze purred in amusement as they padded over to the fresh-kill pile. Icecloud picked out a shrew. She closed her eyes, finishing her prayer to StarClan before eating.

_So... thank you for everything. Thank you, Cinderheart._

* * *

**Even though she's been dead for about a year now, her memory still lives on in the Clans. I wasn't sure how it'd be writing the epilogue in Icecloud's POV, but I think it's turned out alright. Oh, and before anyone asks, _no_, Cinderblaze is not a third gen reincarnation or anything, she's just named after Cinderheart. Yes, that means this does not make room for a sequel. Sorry, but this is the end of Zero Two. I like where I have ended it and I am keeping it that way.**

**I hope you have enjoyed reading Zero Two. It's been a fun story to write. Sure, the updates weren't very frequent at first, but they got a lot better throughout the latter half of the story. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and I hope you are, too.**

**Maybe I'll see you again some day with another story, but then again, maybe I won't. Either way, I wish you the best of luck in anything and everything from here on out.**

**Eh... I suck at goodbyes... Although, if I may say, I thought Cinderheart's goodbye with Lionblaze was very touching. I was proud of myself for that scene.**

**Anyways, I wish you the best of luck! May StarClan light your path!**

**~Icy**


End file.
